An unidentified terrorist group is planning attacks against oil tankers in the Malacca Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, Singapore said yesterday.
The Singapore Shipping Association said it had received an advisory from the Singapore Navy Information Fusion Centre about “an indication that a terrorist group is planning attacks on oil tankers in the Malacca Strait.”
It said “this does not preclude possible attacks on other large vessels with dangerous cargo.”
“The terrorists’ intent is probably to achieve widespread publicity and showcase that it remains a viable group,” the navy said in its advisory.
It told shipping operators that the militants could use smaller vessels such as dinghies and speedboats to attack tankers, similar tactics by Somali pirates.
Pirates and robbers have also used small fishing vessels to board ships during previous attacks in the Malacca Strait, the navy said.
Security analysts have said that the Strait is a prime target because more than 30 percent of global trade and half the world’s oil shipments pass through the narrow waterway.
Singapore is a prime target for attacks by militant groups, officials have said. One of the plots foiled by Singapore authorities was a plan by Islamic militants to hijack an airliner in Bangkok and crash it into Changi Airport in 2001 following the Sept. 11 attacks in the US.
Singapore has also arrested several militants allegedly involved in a plot to bomb the US embassy and other targets in the city-state.
“If the Singapore navy is providing this information, it should be taken very seriously,” said John Harrison, a maritime security expert at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
While the navy did not name any group, Harrison said the Southeast Asia-based Jemaah Islamiyah militant group or Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network could not be ruled out.
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