<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Published April 20, 2009
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Pirates release crew, take off with tug, barge in S China Sea
By VINCENT WEE
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(SINGAPORE) The Singapore-registered tugboat and barge pair Prospaq T1 and Prospaq B1 respectively have become the latest victims in what appears to be a rising trend of piracy cases in regional waters as the economic downturn drags on.
The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre reported that the Prospaq T1 left Singapore bound for Vietnam towing the empty barge Prospaq B1 on April 5. While underway in the South China Sea, the tugboat was boarded at 8.35pm on April 7 by 12 pirates at a point about 60 nautical miles north of Pulau Anambas, Indonesia. They came in a motor boat with two outboard motors and were armed with two handguns and knives.
The pirates tied and blindfolded the 10 crew of six Indonesians, three Myanmar nationals and one Malaysian using masking tape. The crew were held onboard the tugboat by the pirates for a week. Then at 2am on April 13, the pirates removed the blindfolds and instructed the crew to board an inflated life raft without providing them any provisions. The pirates took the tugboat towing the barge, and proceeded towards an unknown location.
Fortunately for the crew, at 9.17pm on April 14, the container ship MV ANL Explorer, which was en route to Manila, found the crew aboard the life raft drifting about 25 nautical miles south- west of the Philippines island of Balabac, near Palawan. The rescued crew were hungry and exhausted but not injured.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The tugboat's owner has reported the incident to the Singapore authorities while the crew, who returned to Singapore last Friday, are assisting in investigations. ReCAAP ISC has activated navigational broadcasts to warn mariners of the incident, which it has classified as a Category 1 (very significant) incident - the highest of three categories ReCAAP uses in its system.
Investigations are currently ongoing and the ReCAAP ISC is working with the coastal state authorities in the region on the incident. It is believed the pirates, who were understood to be Indonesian-speaking, will likely use the tugboat and barge to run their own operations for as long as they can.
Possibly noting a trend or even several groups of pirates sharing a similar modus operandi, ReCAAP ISC highlighted the fact that there has been an increase in the number of incidents involving tugboats reported in the vicinity of Malaysia's Pulau Tioman in the South China Sea. In 2009, there have been a total of three incidents involving tugboats reported in this vicinity to date, compared to four incidents reported in 2008. No incident involving tugboats was reported in the vicinity in 2007.
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</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Pirates release crew, take off with tug, barge in S China Sea
By VINCENT WEE
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</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>(SINGAPORE) The Singapore-registered tugboat and barge pair Prospaq T1 and Prospaq B1 respectively have become the latest victims in what appears to be a rising trend of piracy cases in regional waters as the economic downturn drags on.
The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre reported that the Prospaq T1 left Singapore bound for Vietnam towing the empty barge Prospaq B1 on April 5. While underway in the South China Sea, the tugboat was boarded at 8.35pm on April 7 by 12 pirates at a point about 60 nautical miles north of Pulau Anambas, Indonesia. They came in a motor boat with two outboard motors and were armed with two handguns and knives.
The pirates tied and blindfolded the 10 crew of six Indonesians, three Myanmar nationals and one Malaysian using masking tape. The crew were held onboard the tugboat by the pirates for a week. Then at 2am on April 13, the pirates removed the blindfolds and instructed the crew to board an inflated life raft without providing them any provisions. The pirates took the tugboat towing the barge, and proceeded towards an unknown location.
Fortunately for the crew, at 9.17pm on April 14, the container ship MV ANL Explorer, which was en route to Manila, found the crew aboard the life raft drifting about 25 nautical miles south- west of the Philippines island of Balabac, near Palawan. The rescued crew were hungry and exhausted but not injured.
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Investigations are currently ongoing and the ReCAAP ISC is working with the coastal state authorities in the region on the incident. It is believed the pirates, who were understood to be Indonesian-speaking, will likely use the tugboat and barge to run their own operations for as long as they can.
Possibly noting a trend or even several groups of pirates sharing a similar modus operandi, ReCAAP ISC highlighted the fact that there has been an increase in the number of incidents involving tugboats reported in the vicinity of Malaysia's Pulau Tioman in the South China Sea. In 2009, there have been a total of three incidents involving tugboats reported in this vicinity to date, compared to four incidents reported in 2008. No incident involving tugboats was reported in the vicinity in 2007.
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