On Sunday, in cooperation with the ship`s owner which paid a ransom to the hijackers, twenty Indonesian sailors, and 11 others of other nationalities, were released by Somali pirates after they were held hostage for 46 days since their ship MV Sinar Kudus was hijacked in Somali waters on March 16, 2011.
However, a day before the 20 Indonesian sailors were released, the Somali pirates again hijacked another ship, the MT Gemini which is based in Singapore with 13 Indonesian sailors and other crew members of other nationalities on board.
The Singapore-based Glory Ship Management which owns the MT Gemini said the ship was pirated on Saturday while it was sailing to the port town of Mombassa, Kenya. It said the crew members included 13 Indonesians, five Chinese, four South Koreans and three Myanmarese.
"They were hijacked in Kenya and taken to the north where the headquarters of the hijackers is located, " Chief Security Minister Djoko Suyanto said on Tuesday.
Somali pirates were able to carry out hijacking in several places at the same time because they consisted of more than ten organized groups, which according to National Defense Forces (TNI) Commander Admiral Agus Suhartono each have about 30 to 50 members.
"There were about 15-20 organized groups with each group consisting of 30-50 members," Agus said.
In an effort to free the 13 Indonesian sailors and their friends of other nationalities, Indonesia and Singapore, where the hijacked ship is based, have been developing communications.
Chief Security Minister Djoko Suyanto said the government had communicated with Singapore`s Maritime Security Force regarding efforts to release MT Gemini ship hijacked by Somali pirates since Saturday.
"I have contacted the Maritime Security Force in Singapore. It happened by chance that its director is my old friend. Up to last night, they have not yet been able to communicate with Gemini ship," the minister said after opening a "Maritime Security Desktop Exercise and Law of the Sea Course" on Tuesday.
He said that pirates would open communicate after they arrive in their headquarters such as the case of `Sinar Kudus` ship. "They (MT Gemini) were hijacked in Kenya and taken to the north where the headquarters of the hijackers is located. The Maritime Security Force has not had any communications with the ship. Usually, they will open communications after they arrive at their headquarters," Djoko said.
He said that the Indonesian government through the Defense Ministry and the Foreign Affairs Ministry, continued to communicate with the Singapore government. In this case, Indonesia will cooperate with Singapore in the hostage-taking operations.
This case was also stressed by TNI Chief Admiral Agus Suhartono. Indonesia will coordinate with Singapore to secure the release of 13 Indonesian sailors on the Singaporean-flagged MT Gemini, Agus Suhartono said.
He said it was true a Singaporean-flagged ship had been hijacked by pirates and 13 members of its 25-man crew were Indonesians. "We will coordinate with Singapore so that activities to be carried out to save the crew must be approved by the Singaporean government," he said.
He said efforts to save the crew would possibly be done by the TNI task force recently carrying out a military operation in Somalia. In the operation to release the Indonesian-flagged "Sinar Kudus" TNI had deployed an LPD, two frigates, a helicopter and a special unit consisting of personnel from the marine unit, the army`s special force and the army`s strategic reserve command.
Regarding the possibility of Indonesia joining the Combined Task Force One Five One (CTF 151) led by Singapore, Agus said that he had already sent two middle-ranking officers in the CTF 151.
"The presence of the officers has been proven effective especially for securing Indonesian-flagged ships that pass the Somali waters. Even they have intensively helped the officers in dealing with the recent piracy of Sinar Kudus," he said.
Agus said the CTF was only for securing the shipping lane in the Gulf of Aden. "So the shipping lane is secured by multinational forces requiring ships on the lane to pass through certain points that are secured by them. No talks however have been done with regard to securing ships already pirated," he said.
In this case, international law expert Hikmahanto Juwana said the piracy incident befalling Indonesian-flagged ships was a strong reason for Indonesia to take part in the international war against piracy.
"The Indonesian government must take part in the international wars against Somali pirates, against their operators in Somalia and in other countries," Hikmahanto said recently.
The Indonesian government needed to encourage the United Nations to provide assistance for the Somali government so that Somalia would rise from its bankruptcy.
"The increasing incidents of piracy in the Somali waters are a result of the fact that the people of Somali are not able to obtain proper employment," Himahanto said. (*)
Reporter: Andi Abdussalam
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
