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"Heavily armed pirates on two speed boats opened fire on the Indian tanker heading towards Suez Canal early this morning but sped away after a Malaysian frigate dispatched a helicopter to rescue the vessel," the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) chief Noel Choong said in Kuala Lumpur.
No one was injured in the incident in which pirates dressed up in military attire rigged the tanker's bridge and accommodation bunks with machine gun and automatic fire. The Malaysian helicopter did not fire at the pirates' speedboats, he said.
"This was the new year's gift to the owners of the Indian tankers. If the Malaysian warship had not arrived on the scene their warship would have been hijacked," he said.
The Indian tanker carrying full load of oil was heading towards Suez Canal when it was attacked by Somali pirates, who came close and fired at it.
The tanker's captain took evasive measures and sent an SOS which was received by the Malaysian frigate KD Inderasakti which was only 15 nautical miles away, he said.
The frigate dispatched a light military helicopter which arrived within minutes and scared away the pirates' boats, Choong said.
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First of all thanks to the Malaysian naval helicopter for saving the day. Anchor indian ships in a safe point (guarded by warships in gulf) and then collect around 20 ships (depending on cost and risk) and then ask a navy vessel to escort them from Pont A in gulf to Point B (safe port in India). I think this should solve the problem. Dont send a warship just to protect one ship. Also you can ask the ship comany to pay for protection. Guys , Where there is a will there is a way. Quit complaining and deal with it.
Great ! world is cooperating now to face piracy and terrorism.We need to bring wages of poorest to $2 per day it can only be done by not wasting resources on military.Military wastes resources when fighting other states.Taking care of terrorist and pirates is like enhanced police action and working cooperatively should not be expensive.Good luck in 2009
THANK YOU THE CREW OF MALASIAN WARSHIP FOR SAVING OUR TANKER FROM PIRATES. WE SALAUTE THE COMMANDING OFFICER AND THE MEN ON BOARD THE WAR SHIP.
The efforts of the captain and crew of the Malaysian warship must be appreciated and praised for thwarting the pirates and saving the Indian tanker. But what were the Indian naval ships doing? I thought the navy was protecting not only our vessels but also others, in the area. Or was it a single case of rescue of the other tanker by the navy just because it happened to be in the vicinity at that time? And then create a media hype. Its time the naval authorities of the world got together and decimated these pirates once and for all. And, the time seems to be just right now that some of the leaders of that country have stepped down, and the country seems to be going deeper down the abyss of chaos and decay.
Dear Amit,Its apparent you are totally clueless of the sheer collosal area covered by the waters of the Ariabian sea around the Gulf of Aden and the African Horn because of which you have asked such a naive question. Try finding a needle in a haystack that looks like the hay and you will get an idea of how difficult it is for oue Navy or any other to monitor the entire area in question.
THANK YOU FOR THE TIMELY HELP AND SAVING THE INDIAN TANKER WITH OIL FROM SOMALI PIRATES ON IST JANUARY 2009.