Think Morgan, think Kidd. Piracy has long been a lethal threat to seafarers and still continues to cast a shadow over some of the world’s most important trade routes. Just last month attacks were reported from Indonesia, the Strait of Malacca, Sarawak,Brazil, Guinea, Nigeria and Bangladesh.
Gangs, often highly organised, have no compunction in boarding vulnerable vessels, stealing, beating and murdering crews and holding both them and ships to ransom.
In 1992 the International Maritime Bureau began to collate reports on attacks. Based in Kuala Lumpur, the IMB’s piracy reporting centre is a specialist bureau tied to the International Chamber of Commerce. Last year the IMB listed 21 crew members killed and 71 crew and passengers missing, 359 seamen taken hostage while 311 ships were boarded, 19 of which were hijacked.
There are some places that are just too dangerous for most ships to even consider.Coastlines are a high-risk area for hijackings. “Armed pirates, speedboats and gunboats open fire on ships and rob or hijack them. The use of radio including VHF, in these waters should be kept to a minimum,” the IMB says.
Attacks on tankers are rising. In February four crew members of an oil tanker were shot dead by pirates in the Strait of Malacca off Indonesia’s war-torn Aceh province after the vessel’s owners failed to pay a ransom for their release. The IMB described the incident as “a disturbing new trend in pirate activity”.
Though the bureau says it has no evidence of links between gangs of pirates and extremist groups, it concedes that the waterway, which links the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea, is wide open to attack. There has been an increase in co-ordinated attacks on ships, particularly in Indonesian waters. The attackers approach a vessel from different directions and spray their target with gunfire in an attempt to force the ship to stop.
The Malacca strait is used by 50,000 ships a year and carries more than a quarter of the world’s trade and almost all Japan’s and China’s oil imports. With numerous anchorages and different jurisdictions, the waters have been a haven for pirates for hundreds of years. But now Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore are to launch co-ordinated patrols.
However, a suggestion from Washington that the US Navy join in the patrols has been rejected. The response in the region is that an American presence could attract more attacks than it helps to deter.
Technology may provide the most effective broadside against pirate gangs. Secure-Ship is a recent innovation in the campaign against piracy. This provides a non-lethal, electrified fence adapted for maritime use that surrounds a ship. Any unauthorised persons trying to board vessels equipped with the system will receive a 9,000-volt shock. Alarms, floodlights and sirens are also activated.
The ShipLoc tracker is also likely to play a bigger role. Designed as an inexpensive satellite tracking system, it allows shipping companies, using only a personal computer with internet access, to monitor the exact location of vessels.
