Asia/Pacific News
Indonesia and Malaysia Form Rapid Response Team Against Piracy and Armed Robbery
An increase of incidents of piracy and armed robbery in SouthEast Asia has prompted Malaysian and Indonesian law enforcement to form a joint rapid deployment team in response, Maritime Executive reports.
In an earlier statement, maritime operations company Dryad Maritime had criticized local authorities for their lack of involvement, having said that the "response of deploying a patrol boat to the area after the event can be seen as too little, too late."
According to reports, the joint force will deploy three helicopters to secure the Strait of Malacca, two of which will be supplied by Indonesia and one of which will be supplied by Malaysia.
Last year, the number of piracy incidents in the region spiked to a 10-year high, with bunker piracy responsible for the majority of cases deemed "highly significant."
"These events show a need for a permanent security presence in this area during the hours of darkness and, until this has been put in place, these boardings and robberies can be expected to continue unhindered," said Dryad Maritime.
"Until such time as a patrol is put in place, it is left to individual vessels to make their own security arrangements."
The company said that it was recommending that all ships travelling through the Malacca Strait keep all low access points, non-essential entry and exit points, and machinery compartments secure, in addition to posting extra lookouts while traveling in the area.
Earlier this week, it was reported that six ships had experienced attacks within a 30-hour period, incidents which were though to all have been attempted by the same perpetrators.
Earlier this year the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) released a statement to highlight the importance of differentiating between piracy and armed robbery, with the vast majority of incidents that occurred in the region during the first quarter of this year falling under the category of armed robbery and not piracy.
