Monday, March 14, 2005
Brazen Pirates
Jax.
Pirates have attacked a gas tanker in the Malacca Strait, kidnapping its captain and chief engineer for ransom, a watchdog said.
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said about 35 pirates with rocket launchers stormed the Indonesian-owned MT Tri Samudra late on Saturday.
They diverted the Belawan-bound vessel to a different part of Sumatra, before disappearing with the hostages.
The shipowners are trying to negotiate the hostages' release, the IMB says.
The narrow Malacca Strait between Indonesia and Malaysia is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and has long been a haunt of pirates.
Some 37 acts of piracy were recorded there last year but there has been a sharp fall in reported attacks after December's tsunami in the Indian Ocean, the Malaysia-based bureau says.
Some experts say the giant waves could have killed many pirates and destroyed their boats, while others believe the large presence of international troops in the region has deterred attacks.
