Ship with 41 containers of tin metal pirated in Bangka sea

A ship with 41 containers of tin metal owned by PT Koba Tin was pirated by a group of armed men on its way from Pangkalbalam port in Bangka to Singapore on Tuesday, the head of the local navy Let. Col. M. Zainudin said as reported by Detik.com Friday.

Zainuddin said that the a number of navy members were immediately dispatched to the location after receiving a report from the crew of MV Kimstrans Megalift but the pirates sank the ship before the navy members reached the location.

"The pirates ran away before navy members reached the location," he said. He did not mention the total volume of the tin metal on the ship but he estimated that the losses due to the sinking of the ship could reach Rp 65 billion.

The sea piracy has been growing along the shipping route between Bangka and Singapore. In September, last year MV Panama Indah carrying 660 tons of tin metal also owned by Koba Tin were pirated in the same route.

The sea robbers also sank the ship so that the navy would not be able to detect the location. They then came again to the location and took out the tin metal from the sinking ship. (*)