Chris McCall
A new stance by Indonesia has made a major difference in what was once the world’s top piracy blackspot.
Noel Choong, of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), said now most attacks in the busy shipping lanes between Indonesia and Malaysia could be stopped, as long as crews maintained a careful anti-piracy watch and raised the alarm quickly.
A decade ago, Indonesia’s lawless waters headed the world’s list of piracy trouble spots, particularly the Malacca Straits between Sumatra and West Malaysia.
Choong, head of the IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur, said alerting the Indonesian authorities then brought few results. But international pressure prompted Indonesia’s navy and marine police to take a tougher stance.
Read the full story at ifw