Tsunamis end wave of piracy

2005-01-10 14:29

Kuala Lumpur - The tsunami disaster, which killed more than 100 000 people in Indonesia's Aceh province, has put an end to piracy in the Malacca Strait, at least temporarily, a Malaysian maritime official said on Monday.

"The statistics from the International Maritime Bureau show that there have been no pirate attacks or armed robberies in the Malacca Strait" since the December 26 disaster, Malaysian Maritime Institute president Jaffar Lamri told reporters.

"In my opinion, it can only be a result of the impact of the tsunami," he said.

Since late 2003, there had been a steady increase in attacks and kidnappings in the piracy-prone Malacca Strait and along the coast of Aceh, an island troubled by separatist violence.

"They may have been killed or had their facilities damaged," Jaffar said.

"The high activity in the area by the military and international relief teams have definitely kept away those who survived," he said, adding that he hoped this would be permanent.

The narrow waterway bordered by Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia is used by some 50 000 ships a year carrying a third of world trade and half its oil supplies.

- AFP