Shanghai: India today (November 13) warned that the possibility of terrorists resorting to dramatic actions like hijacking a fully loaded super tanker or ships carrying sensitive cargo has emerged as a real threat which requires enhanced co-operation and co-ordination among navies in the region.

The incidents of piracy have been increasing, especially in the South China Sea and Malacca Straits, on the East and West Coast of India, Bangladesh, the Flag Officer commanding of the Eastern Command of the Indian Navy, Vice Admiral O P Bansal told reporters on board of 'INS Ranjit', guided-missile destroyer.

"If you look at the statistics of the International Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, you will find that there is a 200 per cent increase in incidents of piracy and there are 'hot spots' of piracy," Bansal, who is heading the fleet of three Indian Warships to China for the first-ever Joint Naval exercise, said. He also noted that the search and rescue drill planned between Indian and Chinese Navies on November 14 assumes added significance as navigation in the South China Sea and the neighbouring Malacca Straits has been plagued by sea piracy, a serious issue confronting commercial liners.

While acknowledging that 99.9 per cent of piracy incidents were only 'petty theft', he warned that the remaining .1 per cent was itself a cause of concern if they were committed by a determined group of terrorists who wanted to threaten or blackmail a country.

"If you do small theft and small time piracy, it is bad, but not that bad. But there is a piracy of a different angle. If someone is to hijack a super tanker which has only upto 10 crew on board and some 300,000 tonnes of fuel on board, you can do a lot with it, terrorism basically," Bansal said.

While the Indian Navy along with the coast guard has been carrying out anti-piracy patrols regularly in the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, there is a need for enhanced co-operation and co-ordination among countries in the region since strong mafia-like pirate groups were operating in the area, he said.

Citing the famous piracy case involving a Japanese cargo ship 'Megharama' which was carrying 67,000 tonnes of aluminium Ingots, he said pirates, who hijacked the ship in 2000 changed its name into 'Alandra Rainbow' and were trying to sell its cargo.

However, an alert Indian coastguard and the Indian Navy intercepted and foiled attempts of pirates and captured the ship and returned it to the Japanese.

"So piracy has become very important to control", he said, adding after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, there is a great movement in the controlling of maritime traffic.

"You can have freedom of the seas which is guaranteed under the United Nations Charter. But all the countries are very cautious to have control over who is coming to their harbour."

The top Indian Naval official also pointed out that the IMO was expected to announce a series of new measures to ensure stricter control over the movement of cargo.

PTI