Ship, captured by pirates, retaken by Indonesian Navy

Pirates capture a ship in the Malacca Strait, but the Indonesian Navy foils piracy attempts in Malacca Strait:

The Indonesian Navy has foiled a hijacking attempt by a group of pirates who took over a tanker with 2,294 tons of cooking oil across the Malacca Strait, local press said Wednesday.

The Navy foiled the piracy attempt Monday after the Kraton tanker, which departed from South Sumatra's capital of Palembang en route to Central Java, was attacked by 14 pirates on Saturday.

The pirates in a small boat approached the tanker and climbed onboard waving pistols, reported English daily The Jakarta Post.

The tanker's captain, Ruskandi, said the pirates took over the tanker which was transporting cooking oil worth around 22 billion rupiah (2.4 million U.S. dollars) and steered it in the direction of Malaysia or Singapore.

All crew members were tied up.

Commander of the Navy's West Fleet Commodore Denny Novendy said six warships were deployed to chase down the tanker.

"The warships intentionally hit the tanker to give the pirates a fright. With only one shot fired by the pirates, the Navy managed to overpower them without causing any casualties," he was quoted as saying.

One of the culprits said he had been assigned to drive the tanker into Malaysian waters.

If they had made it into Malaysian waters they may have been able to avoid capture by the Indonesians. See here:

Article 111. Right of hot pursuit

1. The hot pursuit of a foreign ship may be undertaken when the competent authorities of the coastal State have good reason to believe that the ship has violated the laws and regulations of that State. Such pursuit must be commenced when the foreign ship or one of its boats is within the internal waters, the archipelagic waters, the territorial sea or the contiguous zone of the pursuing State, and may only be continued ouside the territorial sea or the contiguous zone if the pursuit has not been interrupted. It is not necessary that, at the time when the foreign ship within the territorial sea or the contiguous zone receives the order to stop, the ship giving the order should likewise be within the territorial sea or the contiguous zone. If the foreign ship is within a contiguous zone, as defined in article 33, the pursuit may only be undertaken if there has been a violation of the rights for the protection of which the zone was established.

2. The right of hot pursuit shall apply mutatis mutandis to violations in the exclusive economic zone or on the continental shelf, including safety zones around continental shelf installations, of the laws and regulations of the coastal State applicable in accordance with this Convention to the exclusive economic zone or the continental shelf, including such safety zones.

3. The right of hot pursuit ceases as soon as the ship pursued enters the territorial sea of its own State or of a third State.

4. Hot pursuit is not deemed to have begun unless the pursuing ship has satisfied itself by such practicable means as may be available that the ship pursued or one of its boats or other craft working as a team and using the ship pursued as a mother ship is within the limits of the territorial sea, or, as the case may be, within the contiguous zone or the exclusive economic zone or above the continental shelf. The pursuit may only be commenced after a visual or auditory signal to stop has been given at a distance which enables it to be seen or heard by the foreign ship.

5. The right of hot pursuit may be exercised only by warships or military aircraft, or other ships or aircraft clearly marked and identifiable as being on government service and authorized to that effect.
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