Pirates' hauls prompt fears for Aussie seafarers
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The International Maritime Bureau counted 199 attacks around the world in the first nine months of this year. (Reuters)
The Maritime Union says the Australian Government should consider using the Navy in an international effort to protect sea lanes in the region from pirates.
The waters around Indonesia are ranked third in a list of piracy hotspots, prompting the union to warn it is only a matter of time before an Australian seafarer is killed in a pirate attack.
The union's warning comes as the Saudi owners of an oil super-tanker captured by Somali pirates consider a $US25 million ($41 million) ransom demand.
The Sirius Star, the Saudi tanker hijacked by Somali pirates at the weekend is carrying 2 million barrels of oil, valued at around $US100 million so the $US25 million ransom the pirates are asking the ship's owners to pay may not seem too high a price.
The Maritime Union of Australia's assistant national secretary Mick Doleman says it is likely pirates operating around Indonesia will be inspired by the massive haul.
"We don't have big super-tankers of that size in this region but we do have gas tankers which are highly expensive, worth a lot of money; their cargo is worth a fortune," he said.
"So there is a prime target for an ambitious pirate who sees the events in Somalia and an opportunity for them."
The International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Centre counted 199 attacks around the world in the first nine months of this year.
Mr Doleman says the pirates seem to operate with impunity.
"In our own area, Indonesia, Straits of Malacca, [are] terrible areas for piracy and there's been any number of them over the years," he said.
Pirate attack
Wayne Finch is a fourth generation seaman who has worked at sea for the past 43 years.
In 1992 he was crewing a tanker from Singapore to Australia when he encountered pirates.
"A mate came running into the skipper's cabin and said, 'There's pirates aboard! There's pirates on board,'" he said.
"And the three of us at once said, "Oh, go away Lindsey," or words to that effect.
"And he said, 'No,' he said, 'I'm fair dinkum.' He said, 'There's pirates on board.'
"The gas relief valves on the cargo tanks started what we call chattering and one of the IRs went out on the wing of the bridge to see what had happened.
"As soon as he was out there, next thing he knew he had a machete at his throat. They came up from behind us in fast speed boats, put up bamboo poles and that and just shimmied up the poles and that's how they got in."
The pirates roughed up the captain and tied him up.
Good security meant they only made off with about $1,000.
The latest surge in pirate attacks off the African coast is making shipping companies re-think their routes.
The world's largest container ship operator AP Moller-Maersk says their ships will avoid the Gulf of Aden.
The Danish shipping company says its ships will use alternative routes south of the Cape of Good Hope and east of Madagascar.
Red Sea states have pledged cooperation to end the threat and Russia has announced it will send more warships to protect shipping lanes.
There have also been suggestions merchant crews should arm themselves.
Mr Doleman says that is a bad idea.
"Because all you do then is have an arms proliferation," he said.
"We've got M16s. Then the pirates have got M60s."
He says the Australian Government should take the lead in any regional effort.
"They need to work with the United Nations and our near neighbours to look for cross jurisdictional support for the military, navy, air force surveillance, detection and heavy prosecution," he said.
"There needs to be zero tolerance on this stuff."
Adapted from a report by Ashley Hall for AM
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