Commandos Capture Pirated Cargo Ship

Published Aug 25, 2005 12:01 AM by The Maritime Executive

Commandos pursued the ship for 17 hours, south from Port Klang, Malaysia through the Strait of Malacca, where piracy is a huge problem. The interception came after the International Maritime Bureau tipped off authorities that the Malaysian-owned ship had entered the strait. Four patrol boats with 45 marine police took part in the operation. "The ship refused to stop and was sailing towards the southern tip of the Malacca Strait," Marine Force Commander Abdul Rahman Ahmad said. "It was a successful operation. We did not fire a single shot. The crew gave up without any resistance." In the recovery operation, police detained 20 Chinese nationals on board. The original crew was released in Batam, Indonesia, after the hijacking in November, 2002. "We have been collecting information on the ship," said Noel Choong, Head of the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre, based in Kuala Lumpur. "The vessel has been moving around India, Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma). Our break came when the ship came through the strait and was due to bunker in Singapore." The 5678-ton ship was renamed and had a new flag of convenience. It was sailing from India to Vietnam with a cargo of soya beans. "We have a 90 per cent recovery rate on the big ships," Mr Choong said. "But it can take a week to months or years. With the smaller ships, it is much harder, because they can change their color and their physical appearance." Marine security in the Strait of Malacca remains an international issue. Lloyd's Market Association recently classified the waterway, for insurance purposes, as a high-risk zone for piracy and terrorism. Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia have rejected offers from the United States to help secure the strait, through which more than a third of the world's trade and half its oil supplies pass each year. The number of attacks rise and fall depending on the number of patrols, but Mr Choong said the violence of attacks was rising and that adding more patrols was a short-term solution. On June 10th, Indonesian pirates took control of a Malaysian-registered oil tanker, but surrendered after 12 hours. On August 19, pirates shot at a tug boat travelling from Kota Kinabalu, in Sabah, to Penang. The captain cut loose the barge of scrap metal he was towing to escape. Last year, The Piracy Reporting Centre found that most attacks occurred in Indonesian waters (70 of 251 reported attacks worldwide). Most occurred in the Strait of Malacca. There have been at least seven attacks on ships in the strait this year.