Piracy in Southeast Asian seas dropped in 1st quarter of 2007

The Jakarta Post

SINGAPORE (AP): Pirate attacks in Southeast Asian sea lanes fell to their lowest level in five years in the first quarter of 2007 due to increased patrols and other anti-piracy measures, according to a report by Singapore researchers.

So far this year, there have been 10 reported armed robberies and other piracy attacks and two attempted attacks, said the report, released this week by Nanyang Technological University researchers.

"These figures continue to suggest that the overall number of attacks in the region appears to be trending downward,' said the report.

It also noted a decrease in violence, with only one of the reported cases involving firearms. Unlike the first quarters of the last five years, there were no ship hijackings or kidnaps for ransom.

More than half of the attacks took place in Indonesian ports and anchorages, and the others in the Malacca Strait and the territorial waters of Vietnam and Malaysia, said the report, the second on regional piracy by NTU.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore began coordinating their sea patrols of the narrow Malacca Strait - through which half the world's oil trade and a third of global commerce pass - in July 2004 and started air patrols in 2005.

Frequent attacks in the Malacca Strait had caused leading international shipping insurer Lloyd's to give the waterway a "war-risk" rating in 2005. That designation was lifted last August, with the insurer saying security had improved due to long-term security measures.

Jane Chan, an associate research fellow at NTU, that the figures for the study were compiled from weekly updates issued by London's International Maritime Bureau and newspaper reports. Chan's co-authors were Lt. Col. Joshua Ho, a Singapore Navyofficer and senior fellow at NTU's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.