Malaysia warns of terror threat to shipping

Straits Times ^ | March 30, 2003

[Lessismore]

KUALA LUMPUR - A spate of attacks on chemical tankers by pirates armed with automatic weapons in Indonesian waters has heightened concern over their vulnerability to terror groups, a Malaysian security official said on Sunday.

Three attacks on chemical tankers took place between Feb 25 and March 26 this year and seafarers have registered a dramatic increase in pirate attacks in the region since the US-led war against Iraq.

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'We cannot rule out this possibility. Hijacked ships could be used by terrorists,' Marine Police Chief Muhammad Muda, said when asked if hijacked ships could be used by terror groups to launch their attacks on other maritime targets.

But he was quick to point out that police had not found any indication that these recent attacks were the work of terror groups. 'For now, it only suggests that it is being done by individuals for monetary gains.'

But in January, an international watchdog said the seas around Indonesia are the worst in the world for pirate attacks and warned that maritime terrorism could also become a reality.

The Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Centre for the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said the Oct 6 attack on the French supertanker MT Limburg in the Middle-East showed that ships had become vulnerable to terrorism.

In the March 26 attack, the Indonesian registered ship Dewi Mandrin was hit in the early hours' on the Indonesia's side of the narrow Malacca Straits which separates the country from Malaysia.

Ten armed pirates came boarded the ship via a speedboat, taking control of the bridge for an hour and holding the crew sailors hostage.

Noel Choong, IMB's regional manager, said that the nature of attacks on two ships in broad daylight recently had baffled seafarers, adding that one chief engineer was shot in the head. He survived the attack.

Asked if IMB was concerned that it could be the work of terror groups, Mr Choong said that there are currently no reports from any security agencies suggesting that terrorists were targeting ships but the possibility has not been ruled out. -- AFP

[Lessismore]

Rehersals?

[backhoe]

-All Terror, All the Time-- FR's links to NBC Warfare, Terror, and More...--

-Jihad! Across the World....--

[bart99]

And to think that the Indonesia 'constitution' prevents US troops from actively combating terrorism there, evn with their troops.

methinks they should amend their constitution, or beef up their efforts and perhaps build a Navy while they are at it. After all, I've heard they've now got a population of almost 300 million...... could put a lot of people to work.

[Free the USA]

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