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Piracy on rise in South China Sea, worrying neighbours
Piracy Is on the rise In the South China Sea, worrying governments of nearby counties and sending alarm bells in the shipping Industry. Yojana Sharma of IPS reports
HONG KONG: They come tn the dead of the night in their small unlighted speedboats They travel parallel to the big ships that ply the busy shipping lanes of the South China Sea and size up their prey.
Then they attack silently. Boarding the vessel with grappling iron*, rope* and tong bamboo poles with stout hooka, they head straight for the bridge or the chief engineer s office to disable the vessel and force the crew to hand over their money — or their life.
This Is no child's adventure story but a growing real file menace of piracy In the South China Sea and the waters around Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
The number of attacks ha* rocketed In the
past two years that several Asian countries intending a recent meeting of the International Maritime Organisation in London considered calling on members of the United Nations Security Council to take up the issue.
In April, a conference on the suppression of unlawful act* against the safety of maritime navigation was held in Tokyo where delegates discussed piracy tn Asia
Over 200 attacks were reported by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) in the waters off Singapore. Malaysia and Indonesia last year but many similar sea raids go unreported.
The Singapore National Shipping Association says the number of reported pirate attacks on ships docking in Singapore Harbour has risen from three In 1989 to 33 in 1990 and over 60 last year.
There has been a huge escalation of attack*
during 1991 compared with the previous year," said Michael Farlic, director of the 94-member Hong Kong Shipowners Association.
An IMB-organlsed conference held in February tn Kuala Lumpur put the number of reported incidents in the region at 150 last year compared to 60 in 1990 and three in 1989.
The pirates are getting greedier, more brutal and more hostile In their attacks, Farlie said. The pirates threaten the.crew, strip them of their valuables, including watches, camera* and cash and head for the ship's safe.
At least one crewman has been shot and thrown overboard. A captain was severely beaten and others have been attacked for being slow in cooperating.
According to Duncan Drummond, principal surveyor of the Hong Kong Marine Department, the problem is not merely one of
a threat to life and limb and property.
"We are concerned about safety of navigation and even the environment," he said. "Pirate attacks can leave the bridge unattended as crews try to deal with the pirates. In the densely used waters of the region, that can be dangerous."
Drummond warned that such circumstances may lead to collisions. One involving a tanker may end In an environmental disaster.
The busy sealanes of the region make it easier for the pirate* to operate, boarding several ship* In one night and speeding off. often into another country * tcrrltorta) waters.
The ships are going quite slowly for safety reason," Drummond said. That makes them easier to board, particularly If they are heavily loaded and lying low tn the water. The pirates do not have far to climb."