[Kabar-indonesia] Pirates attack two U.N. ships off Indonesian coast in Malacca straits

[Joyo at aol.com]

Pirates attack two U.N. ships off Indonesian coast in Malacca straits

By EILEEN NG Associated Press Writer

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, July 3 (AP) - Pirates attacked
two U.N. chartered ships carrying construction material off the
Indonesian coast in the Strait of Malacca, but there
were no injuries, a maritime watchdog said Tuesday.

Both ships, flying Indonesian flags, had sailed from
Belawan in Sumatra and were heading for Aceh province
when they were attacked on Sunday night, said Noel
Choong, the chief of the International Maritime
Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur.

He said no injuries were reported among the
all-Indonesian crew aboard the two boats, which were
transporting construction material for the rebuilding
of the tsunami-hit Aceh province. The small ships were
chartered by the U.N. World Food Program.

"The attacks took place not far apart from each other.
There is a possibility that they were carried out by
the same pirates," Choong told The Associated Press.
He said no more details were available on how many
pirates were involved and what kind of boats they
used.

The attacks raise concern about a resurgence of piracy
activity in the Strait of Malacca, one of the busiest
shipping lanes in the world, and a major waterway
linking Asia with Europe and the Middle East.

The Strait has typically been one of the most
pirate-infested sealanes in the world, but attacks
fell to an all-time low last year after increased
naval patrolling by Indonesia and its neighbors.

"At the moment we don't know if these are isolated
cases or the start of attacks again in the Malacca
straits," Choong said. "We are still monitoring. But
we urge ships to keep a strict piracy watch."

He said the first ship, which was heading to
Lhokseumawe in Aceh was attacked at 9.45 p.m local
time and the other ship, going to Calang, at around
midnight.

The pirates stole and damaged some of the equipment on
board the first ship and robbed the crew of cash and
personal belongings on the other, Choong said.

Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia officially began
coordinated patrols in the 900-kilometer (550-mile)
Malacca Strait in July 2004 after prodding from
Washington, which said terrorists could link up with
pirates already established in the narrow waterway to
blow up an oil tanker or use it as a floating bomb.

The International Maritime Bureau had praised the
increased security in the Strait for causing a
dramatic drop in piracy incidents last year and this
year.

According to IMB, there were no pirate attacks in the
Strait of Malacca in the first three months of 2006,
but Sunday's attack raised to five the number of
piracy incidents reported since April.

Each year, more than 50,000 ships, carrying half the
world's oil and a third of its commerce, use the route
bordered by peninsular Malaysia and Singapore on one
side and the Indonesian island of Sumatra on the
other.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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