The Vietnam Maritime Administration has issued a warning over rising piracy in the East Sea, urging local maritime administrations to take measures to curb possible risks.
According to the administration, between the late March and mid-April this year, pirates were responsible for three attacks in the area off the coast of the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah and the southern Philippines.
On March 26, hijackers held 10 crew members of an Indonesian tugboat off the southern Philippines when the ship was transporting 7,000 tonnes of coal from Indonesia’s Kalimantan Port to a hydropower plant in the Philippines.
Rising piracy in the East Sea warned
On April 1, a Malaysian-flagged ship with nine crew members on board was hijacked while it was one the way from Manila to Tawau.
Another Indonesian-flagged ship was also attacked by pirates on April 14 when travelling from the Philippines’ Cebu to Indonesia’s Tarakan.
The Vietnam Maritime Administration recently reported from the Regional Co-operation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia, warning about the alarming increase in piracy in the area off the coast of the eastern Malaysia and the southern Philippines.
The administration has officially issued an official warning about the problem, requesting ship owners to carry out basic security measures, such as lighting the area where the ship is docked and sounding the alarm when detecting strangers near or on ships.
Ships are being requested to run 24-hour shifts.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security has also raised concerns that the Southeast Asian region has become a hot spot for pirates.
