Crew members aboard a Manila-bound general cargo ship threw boiling water and hot oil on armed pirates, causing the assailants to flee, according to authorities.
The 1,592-dwt Kudos 1 (built 1995) was navigating Basilan waters from southern Phillippine island's Davao City when armed men on three motorized outrigger boats intercepted the vessel.
The attack occurred late Friday night in the area of Coco and Sibago islands.
Captain Chris Maligmat said his crew repelled the attack by splashing boiled water mixed with oil on the gunmen, according to a bulletin from ASKET Operations.
In retaliation, the attackers opened fire at the vessel carrying assorted steel bars, causing two crew members to sustain minor injuries.
Maligmat called for help from authorities until the armed men fled, the ASKET report said.
The Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard rushed to the area and escorted the vessel to safety in Zamboanga City.
This piracy incident is among five others since Thursday.
Late Saturday night, the Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade – Gulf of Guinea (MDAT-GoG) received a call from a vessel under attack at Cotonou anchorage off of Benin, Africa in the Gulf of Guinea.
At 05:30 UTC Sunday, a vessel was approached by a suspicious boat in the Gulf of Aden between the coast of Yemen and the northeastern tip of Somalia, according to ASKET.
On Friday, MDAT-GoG reported three piracy incidents that took place off the coasts of Nigeria and South America.
Suspected pirates attacked a ship on Thursday evening in the Bight of Bonny 45 nautical miles off Nigeria.
Two other attacks were reported along the coasts of Brazil and Venezuela, according to the ICC's International Maritime Bureau.
