Piracy remains a concern for Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, who share control of the shipping channel. More than 50,000 vessels ply the 621 mile-long Malacca Strait each year, carrying half of the world’s oil shipments carried by sea.
Malaysian police commandos boarded the hijacked MV Paulijing cargo ship in a nighttime operation early Tuesday after a 17-hour pursuit through the Strait. Twelve maritime police officers rappelled onto the Paulijing’s deck.
The Paulijing was hijacked almost three years ago near Singapore. Malaysian commandos detained 20 Chinese nationals on board the vessel. The operation involved four gunboats carrying 45 marine police.
The Malaysian-owned cargo ship, originally named MV Natris, was hijacked in November 2002 in Indonesian Straits of Malaccan waters off Batam island near Singapore. The Paulijing was heading from India to Vietnam with a cargo of soya bean when it was apprehended.
The Paulijing has now been taken to Tanjung Pelapas port in the southern Malaysian state of Johor with the crew onboard and guarded by a police craft.
Head of the Piracy Reporting Center of the International Maritime Bureau Noel Choong hailed the Malaysian police operation. The International Maritime Bureau had alerted police to the Paulijing’s presence of the ship after monitoring the vessel’s movement over the previous three months.
