MALACCA,INDONESIA
TRAVERSING THE PIRACY-RISK AREA OF MALACCA- JULY 31, 2006
Before we passed Singapore, Captain and our senior officers had organized anti-piracy measures and pre planned actions. Ship security watches had been scheduled to intensify vigilance in case of piratical attacks. We rigged six cargo lights at portside and another six at starboard side of the ship. At the aft deck, four fire hoses had been laid out that would serve as repellent for pirates chasing on speedboats.
Malacca strait is a narrow channel between the mainland Malaysia to the north, Singapore to the East and Sumatra, Indonesia in the south. The strait is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. It also ranks the list of piracy incidents according to IMB, International Maritime Bureau based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In the past years, attacks on merchant ships and fishing vessels had been reported. However the IMB has no countermeasures to control piratical attacks. Until today, incidents of pirate attacks have been reported.
The night we navigated at Malacca, all deck lights have been illuminated, we activated the high pressure hoses, and maintained anti-piracy watches shifting every two hours. We together with my fellow OS have been assigned to watch 10 to 12 midnight and then 2-4 in the early morning. We conducted safety patrol and roving around the ship. We held VHF radio to facilitate communications and torch to illuminate boats that might chase us. After the 2 hour duty, we were relieved. We cooked fried rice and had a midnight break. At 2 am, start of another watch again. All of a sudden gusty winds prevailed, the sea became agitated and rain showers poured on deck associated with thunderstorms. The state of the sea became very rough in the Beaufort wind force category. While on duty, we sheltered at portside gang way. We couldn’t conduct safety rounds anymore because of heavy rain we just kept on storytelling about our sea adventures to remain awake.
Finally, we sailed away from Malacca strait. The last report on STRAITREP was sent at the last sector. We were located at the Rondo pass, certain miles from Banda Aceh, Indonesia adjacent to the epicenter of the December 2004 submarine earthquake, which triggered the disastrous tsunami that killed thousand lives. We altered course southwest to the Indian Ocean in accordance with the planned passage.
Before we passed Singapore, Captain and our senior officers had organized anti-piracy measures and pre planned actions. Ship security watches had been scheduled to intensify vigilance in case of piratical attacks. We rigged six cargo lights at portside and another six at starboard side of the ship. At the aft deck, four fire hoses had been laid out that would serve as repellent for pirates chasing on speedboats.
Malacca strait is a narrow channel between the mainland Malaysia to the north, Singapore to the East and Sumatra, Indonesia in the south. The strait is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. It also ranks the list of piracy incidents according to IMB, International Maritime Bureau based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In the past years, attacks on merchant ships and fishing vessels had been reported. However the IMB has no countermeasures to control piratical attacks. Until today, incidents of pirate attacks have been reported.
The night we navigated at Malacca, all deck lights have been illuminated, we activated the high pressure hoses, and maintained anti-piracy watches shifting every two hours. We together with my fellow OS have been assigned to watch 10 to 12 midnight and then 2-4 in the early morning. We conducted safety patrol and roving around the ship. We held VHF radio to facilitate communications and torch to illuminate boats that might chase us. After the 2 hour duty, we were relieved. We cooked fried rice and had a midnight break. At 2 am, start of another watch again. All of a sudden gusty winds prevailed, the sea became agitated and rain showers poured on deck associated with thunderstorms. The state of the sea became very rough in the Beaufort wind force category. While on duty, we sheltered at portside gang way. We couldn’t conduct safety rounds anymore because of heavy rain we just kept on storytelling about our sea adventures to remain awake.
Finally, we sailed away from Malacca strait. The last report on STRAITREP was sent at the last sector. We were located at the Rondo pass, certain miles from Banda Aceh, Indonesia adjacent to the epicenter of the December 2004 submarine earthquake, which triggered the disastrous tsunami that killed thousand lives. We altered course southwest to the Indian Ocean in accordance with the planned passage.
posted by Arez at 8:33 PM
<< Home