Indonesia Foils Piracy Attempt to Singaporean Ship

Jakarta, InfoPublik – Indonesian warship KRI Untung Suropati-372 managed to thwart piracy attemp towards a ship moving from Singapore into Indonesian territory, MV Hai Soon 12 which was detected in the area of Tanjung Puting, South Kalimantan, on Monday (5/9).

According to Indonesian Military (TNI) Navy Information Office  Chief First Admiral Edi Sucipto, KRI Untung Suropati foiled the hijacking attempt after receiving a tip from the Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) when performing security and safety patrols in Indonesian waters territory.

"KRI Untung Suropati-372 was immediately dispatched to pursuit the operation target, the Navy finally managed to foil the piracy," said Edi through a written statement on Tuesday (5/10).

Mr. Sucipto explained that the Singaporean-flagged cargo vessel MV Hai Soon 12 with 21 crew on board was previously detected sailing from Singapore to Dumai. Lost communication occured when it was crossing the Karimata Strait.  

From the data received from the hijacked ship’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) the ship could be located in the the waters of Tanjung Puting, although the pirates changed the name to KM AISO.

In the incident, nine pirates were arrested, all of whom were Indonesian citizens. They are identified as  Niko (form Wakatobi), Anur (from Bugis), Moh Nurhadi (from Tanjung Uban), Agus (from Aceh) and Mustafa, Alimudin, Ali, Yanto and Andika from Buton. 

The pirates confessed that they had planned to transfer the 200 kilo liters of oil cargo from MV Hai Soon 12 to a Malaysian ship, MT Marine Gas Oil. Until this news is published, MV Hai Soon 12 and the nine hijackers were detained in KRI Untung Suropati-372 in Surabaya for further investigation. (Translator:Erik Limantara)