The Continuing Surge Of Piracy In South East Asia

The surge of piracy in South-East Asia waters continues as ships passing the Straits of Malacca and Singapore are falling victim to acts of piracy.

Whilst Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia operate anti-piracy patrols in the area, it has limited resources. The sheltered coast and islands also makes it easier for robbers to operate. As piracy rampages on, Indonesia and Malaysia has taken efforts to jointly increase security.

By far, the most significant incident suggests activities going beyond the usual act of armed robbery or theft on board ship.

On 11 June 2015, eight men armed with pistols and machetes boarded the Orkim Harmony a Malaysian registered tanker whilst it was nearing the end of her voyage. The Orkim Harmony was hijacked about 30 nautical miles from the Malaysian Port of Tanjung Sedili and carrying about 6,000 Tonnes of RON95 gasoline, worth more than USD 5 million. After the Pirates restrained the crew, they repainted and renamed the vessel Kim Harmon. During a joint search missions with the Malaysian Navy, an Australian air force patrol eventually spotted the stolen tanker. The pirates, all Indonesian, were arrested in Vietnamese waters.

The Orkim Harmony heist was followed by another brazen attack on 8 August 2015 of a Singapore-registered tanker, MT JOAQUIM. The MT JOAQUIM was heading from the Indonesian Port of Tanjung Pinang to the island of Langkawi off the northern coast of Malaysia where it was hijacked and one crew member was injured. It was later found miles off Tanjung Keling with the 3,500 metric tonnes of marine fuel oil on board the tanker reported missing.

South-East Asian pirates unlike their Somali counterparts, hope to steal bunkers, palm oil and chemicals from slow moving tankers. In most cases the ships and crew is released once the bunker or cargo has been siphoned. Whilst only a fraction of the ships which sails the Straits are affected, seamen are now clearly worried as the attacks are clearly getting more violent. During the heist of the Orkim Harmony, one of the crew suffered a gunshot wound to the thigh.

The situation was different 10 years ago where South-East Asian nations appeared to have pirates on the run. As of mid August 2015, following the attack on MT JOAQUIM, more than 70 ships have fallen prey to pirate attacks in the Malacca and Singapore Straits. According to the International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau, during the first six months of 2015, pirates launched an...