Navies from Malaysia,Singapore and Indonesia combined to foil the attack on the 1,007-gt producttanker Ai Maru (built 1978).
Piratesboarded the product tankerfrom three speed boats in position at 02°06.90’E, 104° 39.80’E at about 2030 hrs on Saturday.
TheHonduras-registered ship had 1,520t of MGO onboard when it departed westernSingapore OPL for the Gulf of Thailand.
Whilst thevessel continued to head south-easterly at a speed of about 4.5 knots, themaritime authorities from the three nations deployed assets to the location.
At about0050 hrs on Sunday, the Ai Maruwasobserved to be drifting with its shipboard lighting turned on, as authoritiesclosed in.
Initialinvestigations revealed that seven pirates armed with pistols and knives boardedthe ship, tied the crew and locked them in a room.
They damagedthe ship’s communication equipment, reportedly siphoned 620t of the MGO, stole the crew’s personal belongings andreportedly fled after seeing the naval forces closing in. The crew was not injured.
Details of this latest incident came in an alert from the Singapore-based Regional CooperationAgreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP)Information Sharing Centre.
“The samevessel, Ai Maru had beenboarded by pirates in 2012 in the South China Sea with the same intention ofsiphoning,” said ReCAAP.
“However, the pirates plan was foiled when theauthorities were in the vicinity. This time round, the pirates plan was again foiledowing to the quick response from regional maritime authorities.”
