Thursday, June 23, 2016

ABU SAYYAF HIJACKED INDONESIA VESSEL AGAIN


The Charles tugboat
                                 Charles vessel

In short period of time Abu Sayyaf rebels in Sulu island hijacked again for the third time Indonesia vessels in 2016. They asked for ransom to release the sailors and treated to head off if deny to pay. The two hijacked release after the ship owner pay the ransom.
It is confusing why Indonesia's vessels to be the target since the rebels and the sailors are the same religion, Moslem. Two of the sailors named Muhammad.

We do hope under the new Government under President Duerte the rebels and the criminals in the Philippines will be executed to death, so the relation between the neighbour countries more closer.


An Indonesian vessel with 13 Indonesian crew was reportedly hijacked in North Borneo – Philippines border area, date of hijack unknown. Wife of one of the crew said to media, that she received a phone call from her husband on June 22. Vessel left Sanga-sanga, Samarinda, east Kalimantan, on June 5. According to her statement, the vessel CHARLES, was hijacked by Abu Sayyaf militants, 8 of the crew were taken to unnamed island, 7 remain on board. Hijacked vessel confirmed as a tug CHARLES carry coal to The Philippines

"Relevant institutions in Indonesia are probing the situation to confirm the news, as well as looking for supporting evidence," Wibanarto Eugenius, minister counsellor at the Indonesian Embassy in Manila, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.  

Wibanarto said in the case of a kidnapping, the perpetrators would usually contact the shipping company after the crewmen had been safely relocated. "So far, this has not happened," he said. However, Wibanarto cited that communication could often be problematic when the group was still on the move. He asserted that the government would continue to look into the issue. 

Meanwhile, the Post's source also confirmed that the kidnappers were members of the same network that hijacked the Brahma 12 tugboat in March, under the leader of Tawing Humair.   
Authorities at the Samarinda Port, where the boat departed from on June 4, confirmed the hostage situation. Col. Yus Kusmany would not identify the perpetrators but said the police and military were investigating further.  

News of another kidnapping near the Sulu waters in the southern Philippines caught media attention on Wednesday night when the wife of a sailor aboard the Charles tugboat conveyed her husband’s condition.
The sailor, one of 13 men aboard, had reportedly contacted his wife to say that the boat had been taken hostage by a faction of the Abu Sayyaf militant group.
Seven men were taken from the boat while the remaining six were set free.

The kidnappers have reportedly asked for a ransom of RM 20million for the release of the hostages.
This is the third incident in recent months involving the kidnapping of Indonesian sailors by the Abu Sayyaf group. The southern Philippine waters borders with the Sulawesi Sea in North Kalimantan.
The area is known as the “new Somalia” for the spate of kidnappings and pirate attacks involving terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. The waterways are part of main sailing track for cargo ships in the region.

Separately, Samarinda Mayor Syaharie Jaang met executives of the company that owns the boat, Rusianto Bersaudara, and attempted to contact the kidnappers. The communication was hampered by a language barrier since the kidnappers could only speak Tagalog.

Below are names of the TB Charles crewmen kidnapped in Philippine waters, as released by the company:
1. Ferry Arifin (captain)
2. M. Mahbrur Dahri
3. Edi Suryono
4. Ismail
5. M.Nasir
6. M.Sofyan
7. Robin Piter



Posted by Mr.Pinondang Situmeang. Email : c2_pin@rocketmail.com

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