Pirates Attack LPG Tanker in Indonesia

28 July 2004

Reuters. Pirates stormed a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tanker at anchor in Indonesia, firing shots at the crew.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said five men armed with automatic rifles boarded a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tanker anchored at Anyer on Monday and fired at the crew before escaping with equipment.

No one was injured in the shootout but the IMB’s director, Captain Pottengal Mukundan, classed the attack as extremely serious. “This is very dangerous because an LPG tanker is the last place you want to have a gun battle,” he told Reuters.

Although pirate attacks have declined globally since last year (which recorded the second highest number of attacks since 1992), they remain a significant worry especially in specific areas of the globe: the foremost being Indonesia and the Strait of Malacca.

In its half yearly piracy report on Monday the IMB ranked Indonesian waters as the world’s most dangerous, with 50 attacks reported, or more than a quarter of the world’s total. The IMB also reported two new attacks in the Malacca Straits, one of the world’s busiest sea lanes.

More than 11 million barrels of oil per day flow through the Strait, according to the US EIA, making it the second-most critical global chokepoint by volume for oil transport.

The Strait of Malacca, linking the Indian and Pacific Oceans, is the shortest sea route between three of the world’s most populous countries—India, China, and Indonesia—and therefore is considered to be the key choke point in Asia.

The narrowest point of this shipping lane is the Phillips Channel in the Singapore Strait, which is only 1.5 miles wide at its narrowest point. This creates a natural bottleneck, with the potential for a collision, grounding, or oil spill (in addition, piracy is a regular occurrence in the Singapore Strait).

If the strait were closed, nearly half of the world’s fleet would be required to sail further, generating a substantial increase in the requirement for vessel capacity. All excess capacity of the world fleet might be absorbed, with the effect strongest for crude oil shipments and dry bulk such as coal. More than 50,000 vessels per year transit the Strait of Malacca. With Chinese oil imports from the Middle East increasing steadily, the Strait of Malacca is likely to grow in strategic importance in coming years.

One of the major worries is that the terrorist attacks on oil infrastructure that are evolving in Iraq will morph into an assault on shipping at a critical chokepoint—such as the Strait of Malacca.

Piracy has plagued the strait for centuries but has worsened in recent years. Regional governments and security experts fear the growing lawlessness could result in a terrorist strike.

The price of oil would climb even more. A successful attack on an LNG carrier could have even longer-term ramifications for both producers and consumers. (Indonesia currently is the world’s largest producer of LNG, so there are ample opportunities.)

Indonesia, Singapore and Malayasia are cooperating in defense of the strait. (BBC.)

A final note on piracy in this post. Nigeria follows right after Indonesia and the Strait of Malacca in terms of number of attacks; the attacks in Nigeria are more deadly, accounting for 50% of the piracy-related fatalities in the first half of this year. allAfrica.com.