Pirates Repossess Fishing Vessel

Last Wednesday a group of armed pirates boarded the Thai fishing vessel Chok Boonmee 5 and forced her crew over the side. The attackers kept the captain aboard and forced him to take the vessel towards Malaysian waters.

The six pirates used a long tailed boat to approach the fishing vessel near Leepeh Island, Thailand. The captain managed to get off a mayday alerting authorities to the attack before the vessel was seized.

Local media reports differ on the details of the crew's abandonment; they were forced either onto a rock outcropping or into the water. Thai authorities rescued them all without incident and no injuries were reported.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said that it recovered the Chok Boonmee 5 with two of the six alleged pirates aboard, and that the vessel's captain had been dropped off in Satun Province, Thailand, near the Malaysian border.

The two captured hijackers told police that they were working for the seller of the vessel, who had not yet been paid in full for its transfer. Thai owner Falil Pongtae had purchased the Chok Boonmee 5 several months ago and was said to have other outstanding debts. It would appear that the hijacking was an attempt to compel payment, or to repossess the vessel.

Police did not reveal the amount the pirates were paid to commit the crime.

Authorities said that “only one of the two firearms used during the hijacking was real. The rest of the weapons wielded by the men were axes and slingshots.”

The two pirates captured – both in their early sixties – face charges of gang robbery, kidnapping, and illegal possession of a gun. They denied involvement in gang robbery but admitted to the other charges. Investigation into the circumstances of the crime are ongoing.