Terror in the Celebes Sea
The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre has issued a warning from the Philippine Coast Guard about an attack on the bulker, Akij Pearl.
The bulk carrier Akij Pearl was attacked off Sibutu Island on Wednesday morning near the Malaysian state of Sabah, says the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre. The organisation monitors maritime crime in Asia and has issued a warning that the terrorist group, Abu Sayaf, may again be targeting shipping in the area.
The 56,045 dwt bulk carrier was underway when she was approached by a speedboat carrying three men who tried to board her. The master of the vessel reported the incident to the Philippine Navy Littoral Monitoring Station. It is not known if the perpetrators were armed.
In the alert, ReCAAP stated: “As the Sulu-based Abu Sayyaf Group/Kidnap-for-Ransom Group (ASG/FRG) elements are based in the area of the incident, the ReCAAP ISC urges ship master and crew to exercise extra vigilance when transiting the waters off Eastern Sabah and in the Sulu-Celebes Seas, in particular waters off Sibutu Island.”
