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| Southeast Asia |
| Al-Qaeda planning to turn tanker into a floating bomb |
| 2004-09-12 |
| Fanatics from the Islamic terror faction blamed for last week's suicide attack on the Australian embassy in Indonesia are planning to hijack an oil tanker or freighter and turn it into a floating bomb, The Telegraph has learned. United States intelligence has passed on warnings about the plot to launch an attack in the region's busy shipping lanes to several countries, including Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. They acted after intercepting communications between activists from Jemaah Islamiah (JI), a network linked to al Qa'eda. The terrorists have been discussing plans to seize a vessel using local pirates. The hijacked ship would be wired with explosives and then directed at other vessels, sailed towards a port or used to threaten the narrow and congested sea routes around Indonesia. Strong indications that Islamic extremists are planning a new wave of bloody attacks against Western targets also emerged in Pakistan where detained militants revealed that the latest al Qa'eda video tape was intended to be a trigger for fresh atrocities. Prisoners captured in recent weeks have told their interrogators that last week's taped message from Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's deputy, was a signal for al Qa'eda cells that were already on standby. "We were told that a new tape either carrying bin Laden or his deputy's message was on its way, and that it was intended to trigger a major terror attack," a senior Pakistani intelligence official told The Telegraph. "The cadres linked to the terror network were told to carry out an attack once this video is released." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #5 They better not. If they blow up an oil tanker, they're going to piss off the environmentalists. Killing people is ok, but polluting the environment, now that goes over the line. |
| Posted by: Jabba the Nutt 2004-09-12 10:53:44 PM |
| #4 Nowadays, they get sailors on board, and an escort into port. Makes no difference. The hull could be breeched externally (shoulder launch missile or USS Cole-style attack). LNG carriers should have offshore docking terminals that are placed far away from population centers. Anything else is a disaster waiting to happen. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-09-12 6:54:55 PM |
| #3 The possibility of an LNG carrier being used as a floating bomb to attack a port was one of the first possibilities considered by the US after 9/11. Nowadays, they get sailors on board, and an escort into port. |
| Posted by: gromky 2004-09-12 5:54:29 PM |
| #2 There have already been cases of pirates commandeering a boat and then steering it for several hours in order to acquire piloting skills. I would advise all countries to immediately begin construction of extended offshore facilities for the offloading of natural gas tankers, as in ones that are well-removed from large population centers. Piers and pipelines are a lot cheaper to construct when compared with the cost of rebuilding a major metropolitan city. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-09-12 3:18:52 PM |
| #1 I'd be on the lookout for wanna be harbour pilots who don't want to learn to dock. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-09-12 10:16:33 AM |