AsiaOperationsPiracy

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.

Holly Birkett

Holly is Splash's Online Editor and correspondent for the UK and Mediterranean. She has been a maritime journalist since 2010, and has written for and edited several trade publications. She is currently studying for membership of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. In 2013, Holly won the Seahorse Club's Social Media Journalist of the Year award. She is currently based in London.
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