Malaysia to step up anti-piracy patrols in Malacca Strait
02.09.2006, 04:18 AM

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX) - Malaysia is to step up anti-piracy patrols in the Strait of Malacca, by adding up to 15 new high-speed police boats and conducting joint maritime exercises with Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore, a senior official said.

'We will obtain 10 to 15 small strike craft with speeds of up to 45 knots this year to ensure the security of Malaysian waters including the Malacca Strait,' Abdul Rahman Ahmad, marine police commander, told Agence France-Presse.

The Malaysian-made vessels each cost 500,000 rgt and are capable of carrying four marine police, he said.

The maritime force already has four of the craft deployed from the southern tip of the strait in Johor state and at Port Klang, west of Kuala Lumpur, he said, adding they have proved effective in reducing piracy attacks.

Worldwide high-seas attacks fell last year thanks to enhanced awareness and patrolling, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

The number of attacks in the Strait of Malacca fell in 2005 to 12, from 38 the year before, according to the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre.

Attacks in Indonesian waters, however, accounted for 30 pct of the global total in 2005, despite dropping to 79 from 94 a year earlier.

The IMB put total attacks for 2005 at 276, compared with 329 in 2004.

Abdul Rahman said his agency will hold a joint maritime exercise with Thailand and Indonesia in the next three months, and discussions are underway for a similar exercise with Singapore.

The 804-kilometer-long strait, one of the world's busiest sea routes, links Asia with the Middle East and Europe.

Some 50,000 vessels and about 40 pct of the world's trade, including 80 pct of the oil and gas destined for Japan and South Korea, pass through the narrow waterway each year.