 Gunmen armed with rocket launchers stormed a chemical tanker in the Strait of Malacca at the weekend in an unusually daring attack, raising initial fears of a terrorist attack, an anti-piracy centre said on Monday.| Cutlass, rocket launcher...either way, run up the Jolly Roger! Arrrrgggh! |
Thirty-five pirates boarded the MT Tri Samudra, laden with an unknown flammable chemical, on Saturday, briefly taking control of the ship before making off with the captain and chief engineer who were being held for ransom, the centre said.At the time of the attack, the Indonesian-owned ship was sailing for the Indonesian port of Belawan in the strait, one of the world's busiest sea lanes. More than a quarter of global trade and almost all of Japan and China's oil imports pass through the strait. "It's the first time they have taken control of a ship like this for a long time... a couple of years maybe," said Noel Choong, regional manager of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur. "The initial fear was of a pirate or terrorist attack."| Or severe indigestion. Chow's terrible on those chemical tankers. |
He pointed out that pirates in the strait usually only seize softer targets like tug-boats that were slower and lower in the water, making them easy to board, Choong said. After the pirates left with the captain and chief engineer, the ship sailed for the nearer Indonesian port of Dumai, southeast of Belawan along the coast of Sumatra island, he said. No one was injured in the attack. "The (ransom) negotiations are underway," Choong said. He declined to give any details of the ransom demand. One of the nightmare scenarios envisioned by security experts is where militants seize a tanker carrying highly flammable liquid, such as the Tri Samudra, and ram it into a port. |