Pirates attempted to attack a Japanese-operated chemical tanker
Pirates attempted to attack a Japanese-operated chemical tanker in the Strait of Malacca on Friday, a Singapore-based anti-piracy watchdog said Monday.Panama-flagged “Ginga Falcon,” a 13,292 gross ton vessel, was anchored in port waters of Indonesia’s Pulau Karimun Besar Island when it was attacked by three pirates shortly after midnight.
But the pirates fled, taking with them only a life ring, when the ship’s crew raised the alarm, the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre said in a statement.
The vessel is operated by Tokyo Marine Co. of Japan.
It had stopped at Karimun to deliver a cargo of chemicals.
No one among its 23-member crew — all Bangladeshis – was injured and the ship, which had been in the Persian Gulf and India, has already continued its journey to Bangkok, Capt. Amit Jain of Singapore-based Unix Line Ltd., which manages the vessel, said.
According to the statement, another vessel, the Singapore-registered tugboat GM Shine, was attacked at night by pirates in the same vicinity on Sunday. The pirates stole the crew’s personal belongings and disrupted all the ship’s communication system before escaping.
The anti-piracy center has advised ships to be vigilant in the vicinity of Pulau Karimun Besar as there have been five piracy incidents in the area.
The center said it believes two groups may be involved in the cases – one group targeting ships at anchor and another attacking ships underway.
ReCAAP refers to the “Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia,” the first regional intergovernmental cooperation, initiated by Japan, against piracy and armed robbery in Asia.
Source: Kyodo
