Pirate Attack Near The Malacca Strait

Crew of a Gulf Energy Maritime tanker this week managed to fend off a pirate attack near the Malacca Strait, it has emerged.

An unknown number of pirates in up to six skiffs attacked the 75,000-dwt products tanker Gulf Coral (built 2009) as it was underway in the Philip Channel on Monday.

The 30-minute assault even saw a number of pirates try to board the Bahamas-flagged unit, piracy watchdog Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP ISA) reported.

“One by one at intervals of three to four minutes, one boat approached the vessel from starboard bow then crossed to port bow and chased along the bow for about two to three minutes,” ReCAAP’s report read. “The ship security alarm and general alarm was activated followed by announcement through the public address system to alert the crew. The crew was mustered on the bridge and immediately put into action anti-piracy measures.

“After 30 minutes of failing to board the tanker, the boats aborted the attack. The tanker continued to proceed to her destination with extreme caution.”

There were no reports of any injuries to the crew or damage to the tanker.

ReCAAP said this is the sixth such incident in the Philip Channel this year.