More than 10 armed pirates on a small boat fired on the Japanese-registered 323-tonne tugboat Idaten in Malaysian waters around 1030 GMT on Monday, kidnapping two Japanese and one Filipino crew member....

The Malacca Straits, one of the world's busiest sea lanes, was rated second worst in terms of piracy by the International Maritime Bureau, an ocean crime watchdog, last month.

The narrow strait betwewen Malaysia and Indonesia, with Singapore at its southern entrance, carries more than a quarter of the world's trade and almost all of Japan and China's crucial oil imports.

One of three abductees taken from a Japanese-owned tugboat by pirates in the Malacca Strait has been released and the man may be the boat's Japanese captain, Indonesian navy officials said Saturday.

If correct, the man is Nobuo Inoue, 56, from Tokyo.

Ketou wrote:I keep getting all these people saying, "did you know that there are still pirates??". It's like a new discovery for the Japanese.

GuyJean wrote:

Ketou wrote:I keep getting all these people saying, "did you know that there are still pirates??". It's like a new discovery for the Japanese.

Kurohige wrote:I had nothing to do with this incident

GuyJean wrote:... The Malacca Straits, one of the world's busiest sea lanes, was rated second worst in terms of piracy by the International Maritime Bureau, an ocean crime watchdog, last month ...

The narrow strait ... carries more than a quarter of the world's trade and almost all of Japan and China's crucial oil imports...

MDN wrote: ... The Kitakyushu-based shipping "firm" said a boat carrying about a dozen pirates approached the tugboat in the strait at about 6:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. Japanese time) and several assailants carrying weapons boarded the Idaten.

The pirates reportedly seized between about 700,000 and 800,000 yen in cash, along with the ship's records, and then abducted the three crewmembers ... more

Where's Peter Pan when you need him.

TOKYO (AFP): Japan sent an armed patrol vessel to the Malacca Strait on Monday as Tokyo steps up its cooperation in the fight against rampant piracy in the region.

The 5,200-ton Yashima with a surveillance helicopter on board left Yokohama port southwest of Tokyo for Jakarta, where the two countries are to carry out a joint drill, a Japanese Coast Guardspokeswoman said.

The Yashima "is equipped with regular arms," she said, without giving more details citing security reasons.

"We think it's a good opportunity for our Indonesiancounterparts to share knowledge and experience by actually boarding this high-performance patrol vessel," she said.

"And of course if piracy takes place while Yashima is there, Yashima is ready to scramble to the site and join rescue operations," she added.

The vessel is scheduled to arrive in Jakarta on June 21 after stopping in Sorong, western Indonesia, for a joint drill on how to handle a major oil leak.

The dispatch is in line with an agreement last year among Asian nations to join forces against piracy in the region. Japan has particularly pushed for a great role as it relies heavily on crude oil from the Middle East that is transported through the strait.

"In order to take measures against piracy in Southeast Asian waters, we have to build firm relations of trust with countries concerned," Coast Guard chief Hiroki Ishikawa told a departureceremony for the Yashima.

It is the first Japanese Coast Guard boat to head to the Malacca Strait for drills since armed men boarded a Japanese tugboat and kept the captain and two crew members hostage for a week in March.

JapanTimes wrote:FUKUOKA (Kyodo) A Panamanian-registered freighter with a Japanese skipper was attacked by sword-wielding pirates March 21 off Indonesia's Sumatra Island, Japan Coast Guard officials said Thursday.


The Martha Verity, a Panamanian-registered freighter that was attacked by pirates off Sumatra Island in March, lies in port in this undated photo.

Several armed men aboard a small boat boarded the 79,855-ton Martha Verity in the early hours of March 21 while it was cruising east of Sumatra and tied up the ship's 59-year-old captain, who has yet to be identified.

No injuries were reported among the 21 crew members, the officials said.

The pirates stole about $ 4,074 and 14,000 yen in cash plus binoculars, they said.

The freighter left Brazil on Feb. 22 with a load of iron ore and entered the port of Oita on March 31. It is currently in Tobata port in Kitakyushu.

The JCG plans to ask Indonesia and its neighboring countries for information.

There were 277 reported pirate attacks worldwide in 2005, of which 79 took place in Indonesian waters, according to the Nippon Foundation, a Tokyo-based maritime industry body.

...The coast guard will establish a five-member team of experts in anti-piracy issues, who will gather information from dangerous areas, analyze the data and come up with countermeasures. The information will be shared with shipping companies. The anti-piracy team will be established possibly in January next year. The coast guard will also dispatch an official to an international information-gathering center on piracy matters that will be established in Singapore this year under an agreement signed by 16 Asian countries, the officials said.

Tsuru wrote:. . . Supply every vessel that has to pass through dangerous waters with a few assault rifles and train the crew to properly use them.

. . . Come to think of it, I actually find it hard to believe anyone would sail through there without at least some kind of arms on board to protect the ship... anyone who has half a brain, at least.

nationalgeographic wrote:
A resurgence of piracy haunts the high seas. This year, as of December 10, 2002, pirates have attacked 338 vessels, on par with 335 for 2001, according to the International Maritime Bureau, part of the International Chamber of Commerce.

. . . The industry is fighting back. Potential defensive measures include a 9,000-volt electric fence to surround the ship deck, high-powered water hoses to fend off marauders, and a new anti-hijacking satellite system, called ShipLoc, to track a ship's position. So far, international regulations discourage the arming of commercial vessels.

. . . According to the International Maritime Bureau, the organization that investigates maritime fraud and piracy, there were 325 reported attacks on shipping by pirates worldwide in 2004. These latest statistics, the IMB said, reflected only reported incidents directed at commercial shipping and represented a fraction of the actual number. Most acts of piracy went unreported because shipowners did not want to tie up a vessel, costing tens of thousands of dollars a day to operate, for lengthy investigations. The human cost was also high&#12539]About 80% of the oil bound for Japan and South Korea is shipped from the Persian Gulf through the strait. In addition, some 50,000 ships transit this narrow channel annually[/B] . . .

The Australian wrote:
KUALA LUMPUR: A Japanese bulk carrier foiled a pirate attack yesterday in the Strait of Malacca off Indonesia's coast, days after two UN-chartered vessels were raided by pirates in the same area.
The attacks raised concerns about a resurgence of piracy in the strait, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and a key link between Asia and Europe.

The waterway had become largely peaceful last year following increased patrols by Indonesia's navy.

Noel Choong of the London-based International Maritime Bureau said the watchdog was extremely concerned by the three latest attacks in the same area.

"We have informed the Indonesian authorities, and we hope they will take action to contain the problem," said Mr Choong, who heads up the IMB's anti-piracy centre in Kuala Lumpur.

In the latest attack, pirates travelling on a blue-hulled unlit speedboat off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province followed the 26,000-tonne Japanese vessel, and attempted to board it by the stern.

But an alert duty officer raised the alarm.

The crew turned on floodlights and sprayed the raiders with water from fire hoses, preventing them from boarding.

On Sunday night, pirates successfully boarded two UN chartered ships carrying construction material for the reconstruction of the tsunami-hit Aceh province.

Both ships, flying Indonesian flags, had sailed from Belawan in Sumatra and were heading for Aceh when they were attacked and looted.

No injuries were reported among the all-Indonesian crew aboard the two vessels, hired by the UN World Food Program.

CrankyBastard wrote:Any seafarers aboard?

CrankyBastard wrote:
. . . Any seafarers aboard?

CrankyBastard wrote:the Sea Rat reminscing to his entraced brethren.
A bittersweet sense of nostalgia of the Sea Rat reciting his tale.
I have a longing for the past, a wish that I could still be there to feel it, and a pang of disappoint that these times are indeed gone forever.
Is it no wonder that I am a CrankyBastard?

A Japanese diplomat was named the first executive director of a new inter-governmental agency formed to help 14 Asian countries fight sea piracy.

Yoshiaki Ito, minister at Japan's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, will head the centre which is scheduled to be officially launched in Singapore on Wednesday.

A key function of the 2.2 million Singapore dollars (1.4 million US dollars) facility is collecting data on attacks and making the information immediately available on a secure network.

The Malacca Strait, one the world's busiest waterways with 50,000 vessels passing through it annually, is a major concern.

A pact known as the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) and the centre were proposed by former Japanese premier Junichiro Koizumi in 2001.

The 14 countries taking part in the meeting include Singapore, India, China, Japan, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma).

"Piracy is a transnational problem and this is the first time an international body has been set up to deal solely with the problem of piracy in Asia," said the Singapore transport ministry's permanent secretary Choi Shing Kwok . . . more

kurohinge1 wrote:Japanese Diplomat To Head Asian Anti-piracy Body

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