By John Boudreau and Mai Ngoc Chau Oct 9, 2014
Bloomberg
Southeast Asia’s waters are becoming more dangerous, according to the captain of a Vietnamese oil tanker released by pirates after a six-day regional hunt.
The Sunrise 689, which left Singapore on Oct. 3 before vanishing from radar, is sailing to Vietnam’s southern port city of Vung Tau today, Nguyen Quyet Thang, the ship’s captain, said in a phone interview from the vessel. It’s currently about 30 nautical miles from Hon Khoai off Kien Giang province and is scheduled to arrive at the southern port city of Vung Tau tomorrow, he said.
“The Southeast Asia waters have never been secure for ships,” Rear Admiral Ngo Ngoc Thu, Vietnam Coast Guard’s vice commander, said by phone today. “In particular, the waters bordering Vietnam and Malaysia are not safe. Although all countries in the region have tried to keep them safe, hijackings still happen.”
Ship hijackings in the region are on the rise, with at least six cases of coastal seizing of cargoes since April, the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur said in July. The region includes the Malacca Strait, one of the world’s “most strategic choke points,” according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Diesel Cargo
The Sunrise 689 was scheduled to arrive Oct. 8 in the central province of Quang Tri, Dao Van Quang, the chairman and chief executive officer of Hai Phong Sea Product Shipbuilding Co., the registered owner, said yesterday. It was transporting 5,200 metric tons of diesel, with an estimated value of $4 million, for a Singapore customer, he said.
The pirates, who said they were Indonesian, were armed with handguns and knives, according to Thang, the captain. Crew members were beaten and one pilot suffered a broken left leg.
More than 10 hijackers came alongside the vessel in two boats and a canoe at 3:40 a.m. local time on Oct. 3 before swarming its decks, he said. They also siphoned 1,500 tons of diesel by pumping the fuel out of two holds into their crafts.
Crew members were stripped of their personal belongings including mobile phones before they were released at 2 a.m. local time today.
“They only allowed us to have a meal once a day, in the afternoon,” Thang said. “They beat all of us.”
Somalia 2011
The Sunrise 689’s captain said he was previously captured and held for eight months by Somalia pirates in 2011. Gangs from the East African nation last year seized the fewest merchant ships since 2004 as armed guards and naval patrols helped deter and repel attacks on a trade lane linking Europe to Asia, International Maritime Bureau data show.
“We do need assistance from the Vietnam Navy,” Thang said. “In such a sensitive area, it would be best if Vietnam joined patrols of the area and offered prompt rescue for ships. Vietnam has offered no assistance to ships in the region.”
The hijackers, who destroyed the Sunrise 689’s GPS and communications systems, left behind an electronic compass for the crew to navigate back to Vietnam, said Pham Van Hoang, the vice captain.
“Their purpose was to steal oil and they threatened to kill us if we didn’t obey their orders,” said Hoang, who passed out after being beaten.
**
No comments:
Post a Comment