The Navy has affirmed the high safety record around the Malacca Strait, one of the world’s busiest trade routes, after it arrested six alleged pirates attempting to hijack a foreign-operated tanker.

Allegedly led by two repeat offenders who just completed prison terms for piracy, the alleged pirates were trying to intercept a Malaysian tanker in the waters of Batam in Riau Islands before the Navy’s quick response team foiled the plot at dawn on Monday.

Tanjung Pinang Naval Base commander First Admiral S. Irawan told The Jakarta Post that a team from the Tanjung Pinang Naval Base had been deployed after it received a tip-off from Naval intelligence on suspicious movement.

… Oil siphoning from vessels had been, until recently, a major issue, particularly in the Malacca Strait, said Collin Koh, research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies’ (RSIS) Maritime Security Programme, as quoted by The Star last week.