SIX fuel tankers have been hijacked and drained in the Malacca Strait or nearby waters of the South China Sea since April without an arrest being made, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).
The latest attack, earlier this month, came when armed pirates boarded a tanker, took the crew hostage and stole part of the cargo, an incident being investigated by Malaysia's Maritime Enforcement Agency.
"Petro pirates", as they are being called, have their own bunker barges come alongside to siphon of four million of litres of diesel worth US$2 million on the black market, in one case, Reuters reports.
Even daylight ship-to-ship onloading and offloading of fuel oil is not unusual as many vessels are fuelled by special bunker tankers while they are moored.
While the hostage taking piracy of East Africa is falling, petro piracy of west Africa is on the increase and being emulated off Malaysia and Indonesia.
"Off West Africa, tankers have always been an attractive target for pirates," said Sven Gerhard, German insurer Allianz's hull and marine liabilities chief, who suggested the business model was being copied locally.
Piracy declined worldwide 11 per cent last year to 264 reported incidents off East Africa and the Indian Ocean off Somalia. But attacks increased sevenfold in Indonesia over five years, where 106 of those 264 incidents took place.
"Stealing fuel is a recent trend. It never happened in my time," said Aga, 62, the nickname of a Batam shipping agent and former pirate who still counts many pirates among his friends, according to Reuters.
Stolen diesel, fetching $400 - $650 per tonne is sold to dealers serving Batam's dozens of ports and shipyards for use in trucks, boats or generators, or to Singapore dealers where fuel is expensive.
"Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago, with thousands of islands," said Jarek Klimczak, a master mariner and senior risk consultant at Allianz. "The proper control and monitoring of all of its waters is nearly impossible, even for an advanced navy. And Indonesia's navy is far from advanced."
About a quarter of the world's seaborne oil trade passes through the Malacca Strait, a choke point on the route between the Middle East and the energy-hungry economies of East Asia.
WORLD SHIPPING
16 July 2014 - 05:47
Petro pirates prey on Malacca Strait's busy shipping lanes
SIX fuel tankers have been hijacked and drained in the Malacca Strait or nearby waters of the South China Sea since April without an arrest being made, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).
WORLD SHIPPING
16 July 2014 - 05:47
Petro pirates prey on Malacca Strait's busy shipping lanes
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