VOI News - Defence Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Thursday that Indonesia would step up security in the Malacca Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, after the Singapore Navy and the city-state’s merchant shipping association warned of a credible threat on oil tankers in the area. Malaysia responded likewise to the warning and its Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said the coast guard had stepped up security.

 

The Singapore Navy and the Singapore Shipping Association said on Thursday that an unidentified terrorist group was planning attacks against oil tankers in the strait.

 

“The threat should be taken seriously as it comes from the Singapore Navy and has been shared with the shipping community,” said Rohan Gunaratna, a Singapore-based expert on Al Qaeda and other radical groups. 

 

The shipping association said it had received an advisory from the navy about “an indication that a terrorist group is planning attacks on oil tankers in the Malacca Strait.” It said: “This does not preclude possible attacks on other vessels with dangerous cargo.”

 

“The terrorists’ intent is probably to achieve widespread publicity and showcase that it remains a viable group,” the navy said in its advisory.

 

It reminded shipping operators that the militants could use smaller vessels such as dinghies and speedboats to attack oil tankers. Pirates and robbers have used small fishing vessels to board ships during previous attacks in the Malacca Strait. 

 

More than 30 percent of world trade and half of the world’s oil shipments pass through the strait, which is bounded by Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

 

The navy recommended that ships “strengthen their onboard security measures and adopt community reporting to increase awareness and strengthen the safety of all seafarers,” according to the association.

 

Singapore, one of Asia’s most affluent cities and a regional base for thousands of multinational companies, is a prime target for attacks by militant groups, officials have said. 

 

An attack that closed the strait or Singapore’s port even temporarily could have a disproportionate impact on global trade, because Singapore is the world’s top container shipping port and its biggest ship-refueling hub. Any attack could also have a big impact on shipments of major commodities from Sumatra. The island is a key producer of palm oil, rubber and coffee.

 

“Maritime attacks offer terrorists an alternate means of causing mass economic destabilization,” terrorism-risk analyst Peter Chalk said. 

 

A Thai naval attache in Singapore said the original warning came from Japan, which told the International Maritime Bureau that ships in the strait could be hijacked. 

 

The bureau then warned regional navies of a possible pirate attack, he said. 

 

“Later, they changed the term to ‘terrorist attack’ as there was fear that they could use heavy weapons to attack these ships,” said the attache, Capt. Sutheepong Kaewtab. Maritime bureau spokesman Noel Choong said it had received the advisory from a foreign government agency. “It is a terror threat,” he said. afp/jg

 

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