Armed guards to sail on vessels in Malaysia
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) says it will allow armed guards to travel on vessels transiting Malaysian waters.
The guards will be placed on certain vessels that are deemed to be a “possible target” for hijackers, which will be determined on a case-by-case basis, MMEA’s director-general Datuk Ahmad Puzi Ab Kahar told national press.
“For instance, if the current trend of hijacking is targeted at tankers carrying diesel and petrol, then yes. We only place men on vessels that have a possibility of being hijacked by pirates, not all vessels,” he told Malaysia’s theSun. He did not disclose how many guards may be carried per voyage.
Ahmad Puzi said said the decision was made in agreement with Malaysia’s National Security Council (MKN).
The case for armed guards has gathered pace since the product tanker Orkim Harmony (7,301 dwt, built 2009) was hijacked by eight Indonesian pirates in the South China Sea in June last year. The tanker was laden with 6,000 tonnes of gasoline for Petronas and was recovered in Cambodian waters a week later.