TheInternational Maritime Bureau (IMB) says at least six knowncases of coastal tankers being hijacked for their cargoes of diesel or gas oilhave been reported since April this year, sparking fears of a new trend inpirate attacks in the area.
“Upuntil then, the majority of attacks in the region were vessels boarded forpetty theft,” the Malaysia-based organisation said.
“Thelatest hijackings seem to follow a specific modus operandi, where armed piratesseize a small tanker and siphon off its cargo to large bunker barges or othersmall tankers in a ship-to-ship operation. In some cases navigational equipmentis destroyed but the crew are left unhurt. They then release the hijackedvessels.
“Thesetypes of incidents are not common in this region which makes the situation evenmore alarming.”
TheIMB has issued a warning to all ships that these attacks have occurred againstsmall coastal tankers primarily in the South China Sea waters off Bintan andBintulu islands.
“The pirates appear to be interested in oil products such as diesel oil. One ofthe hijacked tankers was released quickly possibly because the pirates realisedit had the wrong type of cargo,” notes the IMB.
Maritime securityanalysts Dryad Maritime recently said that they believe the hijackings arebeing carried out by organised gangs involved in the marine fuel black marketin the region.
