International Maritime Bureau

Piracy watchdog issues South China Sea alert

KUALA LUMPUR — A global maritime watchdog on Friday warned ships traversing the South China Sea bordering Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore following the hijack of three tugboats and a barge in recent weeks.

Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's (IMB) piracy reporting centre based in Kuala Lumpur, told AFP alerts have been sent to ships in the area amid a sudden rash of hijackings.

"We are sending out this alert as these are the first three hijackings of vessels in the South China Sea this year," he said.

"Normally pirates in the area are opportunistic as they rob a ship and flee but the hijacking of a vessel requires planning so we believe a syndicate is involved," Choong added.

"As most bigger ships have transmitters on board that help authorities locate them, we believe that pirates in the area are hijacking tugboats which are small and so are not required to have such transmitters," he said.

Choong said the latest incident occurred on June 1 when the IMB received a distress signal from an Indonesian tugboat off Batam island. Authorities were able to locate the vessel and detain the pirates.

However, they were not so lucky in the case of a tug and barge travelling from Kuching on Borneo island to Port Klang in Peninsula Malaysia, when the vessels failed to dock by May 30.

He said Malaysian maritime officials located the barge which was adrift in the South China Sea while a fishing vessel rescued the tug's 10 crew members who were also set adrift in the area. The tug is still missing.

Armed pirates also hijacked another tugboat and barge travelling from Singapore to Cambodia, off Tioman island on March 24, with its 10 crew abandoned in the South China Sea in a raft. The tug and barge are also missing.

"We are urging ships to be on the lookout as unlike in places like Somalia, pirates in these waters abort their attack once spotted," Choong said.

Seafarers have reported a surge in attacks by armed pirates in the South China Sea with 41 in the area since January, according to the IMB.

Attacks off the Somali coast drive piracy to record high, reports IMB

Piracy at sea hit an all-time high in the first three months of 2011, with 142 attacks worldwide, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) global piracy report revealed today. The sharp rise was driven by a surge in piracy off the coast of Somalia, where 97 attacks were recorded in the first quarter of 2011, up from 35 in the same period last year.

Worldwide in the first quarter of 2011, 18 vessels were hijacked, 344 crew members were taken hostage, and six were kidnapped, IMB reported. A further 45 vessels were boarded, and 45 more reported being fired upon.

“Figures for piracy and armed robbery at sea in the past three months are higher than we’ve ever recorded in the first quarter of any past year,” said Pottengal Mukundan, Director of IMB, whose Piracy Reporting Centre has monitored piracy worldwide since 1991.

In the first three months of 2011, pirates murdered seven crew members and injured 34. Just two injuries were reported in the first quarter of 2006.

Of the 18 ships hijacked worldwide in the first three months of the year, 15 were captured off the east coast of Somalia, in and around the Arabian Sea and one in the Gulf of Aden. In this area alone, 299 people were taken as hostage and a further six were kidnapped from their vessel. At their last count, on 31 March, IMB figures showed that Somali pirates were holding captive 596 crew members on 28 ships.

“We’re seeing a dramatic increase in the violence and techniques used by pirates in the seas off Somalia,” said Captain Mukundan.

He added: “The overwhelming number of vessels hijacked off Somalia took place east and north east of the Gulf of Aden. The positions of some of the attackers’ mother ships are known. It is vital that strong action is taken against these mother ships to prevent further hijackings.”

Large tankers carrying oil and other flammable chemicals are particularly vulnerable to firearm attack.  Captain Mukundan said: “Three big tankers of over 100,000 tonnes deadweight have been hijacked off the Horn of Africa this year.  Of a total of 97 vessels attacked in the region, 37 were tankers and of these, 20 had a deadweight of more than 100,000 tonnes.”

A number of countries are employing their navies to take a tough stance against piracy. In a recent show of force, commended by the IMB, the Indian navy captured 61 Somali pirates on a hijacked ship off India’s west coast.

Contemporary maritime piracy in Southeast Asia, history, causes, and remedies

A third report into the incidence of piracy and armed robbery from merchant ships

Globalization and its counter-forces in Southeast Asia

International maritime transport, perspectives

Maritime security in the South China Sea, regional implications and international cooperation