53 Piracy Cases Reported In Malaysian Waters From 2006-2014

A total of 53 piracy cases have been reported in the country’s waters involving the Straits of Melaka, Singapore Strait and Sarawak from 2006 until last year.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said of the total, 38 cases were recorded in the Straits of Melaka, 14 in the Straits of Singapore and one in Sarawak.

“Since the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) started operating in 2006, the focus has been to combat pirates targeting merchant ships. As a result, no piracy occured in the Straits of Melaka since 2009.

“Piracies involving merchant ships in the Straits of Singapore is also under control,” he told the Dewan Rakyat here Tuesday.

Shahidan said this in reply to a question by Liew Chin Tong (DAP-Kluang) on statistics pertaining to pirate attacks off the coast of Malaysia, and the government’s rationale behind a decision not to sign the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP).

He said out of the 14 cases reported in the Singapore Strait, six attempted piracies were curbed, while another eight involved the theft of spare parts from the ships.

On the Malaysian Government’s stand not to sign ReCAAP, Shahidan said it was still working closely with the Information Sharing Centre in Singapore established under ReCAAP.

“ReCAAP is a government organisation sponsored by the Japanese Government, and headquartered in Singapore, but it is not subject to the International Maritime Organisation, an international agency which also involves Malaysia,” he added.

He said the Malaysian Government obtained information on piracy in Malaysian waters through the International Maritime Bureau headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, and had similar functions as ReCAAP.

In addition, Shahidan noted that MMEA currently had a satellite system known as Cospas Sarsat which served as a centre receiving emergency signals from ships.