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Weekly Piracy Report - 15 to 21 March 2005
Recently reported incidents20.03.2005 at 1905 LT at Balikpapan inner anchorage, Indonesia. Several robbers boarded a bulk carrier and tried to break open bosun store. Alert crew raised alarm and robbers escaped empty handed. A crewmember was injured whilst resisting robbers. Authorities informed.  19.03.2005 at 2245 LT at Chittagong 'B' anchorage, Bangladesh. Robbers armed with long knives boarded a general cargo ship at stern whilst anchoring. They stole ship's stores and escaped. Crew raised alarm, sounded whistle and fired a flare. Port control informed but no response was received. 16.03.2005 at 0400 UTC in position 12:45.35N - 051:33.18E, Somalia. Three armed pirates in a boat hijacked a fishing vessel underway. They directed the fishing vessel to come closer to Somali coast. Pirates held the 26-crew members as hostage for a ransom. IMB piracy reporting centre alerted coalition ships in the area who rescued the vessel and the crew and apprehended three pirates. 15.03.2005 at 1330 UTC in position 11:59.1N - 051:16.6E, Somalia. Three pirates armed with guns in a white hull speedboat chased a general cargo ship underway and fired upon her. Crew raised alarm, activated fire hoses, increased speed and took evasive manoeuvres. After 30 mins pirates aborted attempt and fled. 15.03.2005 at 0531 UTC in position 14:20N - 050:50E, Gulf of Aden. Three speedboats with four persons in each boat approached a RORO ship underway and persons inside attempted to board. Crew activated fire hoses, sounded whistle and warned ships in vicinity. One boat was yellow in colour and the other two were brown. After the recent pirate attack on the Japanese tugboat IDATEN, Japan reportedly agreed to provide Indonesia with a patrol boat for anti-piracy work. Despite territorial disputes, Indonesia and Malaysia are now cooperating in joint operations. Malaysia reportedly announced they'll start 24-hour radar surveillance of the Strait, as well as taking other steps. The kidnapping of the Japanese crew has put both nations under international scrutiny; both realize they could lose sovereignty over their portions of the Strait if they don't take action. Posted by: Pappy 2005-03-23 |
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