Triple Kidnapping – A Tri-Border Concern for Three Countries
Capt. Martin A. Sebastian RMN (R)
On the 15th of April, four Indonesians were kidnapped and another shot on the tugboat TB Henry towing the barge Christy. The vessels were owned by Everline Bulk Ltd. This was the third attack in the tri-border area between Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia. It was reported that the attack occurred east of Sabah’s Mataking island, in the territorial waters of Philippines. The tug was heading to Tarakan, Indonesia from Cebu in the central Philippines after offloading 8000 tons of coal at Cebu. The victim and five other crew members along with the two vessels were brought to Malaysia by Malaysian government vessels operating in vicinity.
On the 1st of April, in the waters of Ligitan, Semporna, eight gunmen on board a speed boat took four Malaysians from the MV Massive 6 belonging to Highline Shipping Sdn. Bhd. The gunmen left behind five other crewmen, 2 Burmese and 3 Indonesians. The ship was en route to Manila from Tawau while towing a barge loaded with 7,500 tons of coal.
The incident comes after the kidnapping on the 26th of March of the 10-member crew of an Indonesian tugboat Brahma 12 and the Anand 12 barge, owned by PT Patria Maritime Lines, carrying 7,000 tons of coal in the vicinity of Tawi-Tawi. The vessels were sailing from Sg Putting Indonesia to Batangas Philipines. The tug Brahma 12 was later found in Languyan town Tawi-Tawi and barge Anand 12 was found days later off Lahad Datu with the cargo intact.
The shipping passage from Kudat to Tarakan was classified dangerous by the The Lloyd’s Joint War Committee “Hull War, Strikes, Terrorism and Related Perils Listed Areas – JWLA/018 dated 11 Aug 2011(Borneo, but only the north east coast between the ports of Kudat and Tarakan inclusive). However, in 2015, through JWLA/022 dated 10 Dec 2015, this clause was removed altogether. Only the Port of Jakarta was listed. The Joint War Committee did mention in their report that quote “pirate activity is increased off Eastern Malaysia….”unquote. As such, shipping companies were required to take risk mitigation measures for ships transiting these areas. These measures have been enumerated in the Best Management Practice 4. Though the measures were for High Risk Areas like Somalia, it is useful for companies considering risk mitigation and crisis response in other areas.
Tugs and barges have been hijacked before in the South China Sea, where vessels and their products were the targets. This is the first time crew is being kidnapped in the waters of South East Asia. This goes to show that littoral state authorities cannot see things as it happens and need to envisage scenarios that are possible.
The recent incidents raised a new chapter in the series of Abu Sayaff kidnappings in the area as this is the first time Indonesians have been kidnapped. The fact that fellow muslims are being kidnapped and the ransom demanded being pittance as compared to previous demands raises a few eyebrows as to whether other kidnap and ransom groups are involved.
Whilst Malaysia and the Philippines have been addressing the criminal issues in the tri-border area, it is timely for Indonesian counterparts to join in. It is through collective and collaborative efforts that these issues can be addressed. Defence and Security have to work together with industry and community to provide enduring security. Government agency partnership with Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSC) through a risk mitigation-crisis response architecture like the successes in the Gulf of Aden may be considered. Saving a few thousand dollars is not worth for the millions in ransom, loss of lives, property and consequence management costs to companies A tri-border reporting centre could also be considered to facilitate a reporting system.
Since profit motivated criminals have diversified their tactics at sea, it begs to question whether politically motivated criminals will strike floating production platforms with explosives laden tugs or barges. We need to be prepared for any and every contingency.
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