Pirates seize US$4.6m shipload of tin off Sumatra: Report
Tuesday, April 26 2005 - 01:03 AM WIB
The ship, whose name was not immediately available, was attacked in Muntok, off the island of Sumatra, on Friday while en route to Singapore, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said.
"Details are still sketchy but we know they were firing gunshots, threatened to kill the crew and tied them up," Jayant Abhyankar, deputy director of the IMB in London, told Reuters.
He said the ship was carrying tin but it was not clear whether the pirates discharged the cargo ashore or removed it by sea.
Citing Indonesian sources, a London metal trader said the ship was laden with at least 575 tons of refined tin, which at current prices would be worth about $4.6 million.
The amount would account for about 13 percent of London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouse tin stocks, at a time when prices of tin and most base metals are soaring.
Tin prices have risen from $3,360 a ton in September 2001 to a 15-year high of $9,600 in May 2004.
A spokesman for the LME said it was looking into the hijacking, but was not able to confirm whether the metal was deliverable against LME warrant, meaning that the metal is of a particular quality that can be traded on the exchange.
Indonesian waters are seen as a growing security risk. The IMB says nearly a third of the 325 cases of recorded pirate attacks happened in Indonesian waters, including the now notorious Malacca Strait.
Previous heists include an oil tanker that was hijacked in the Malacca Straits, as well as general cargo ships. (*)