3 The second incident involved M.V. Tenyu, a Panama flagged general cargo vessel. She loaded a cargo of 3,006 MT Aluminium ingots in bundles at Kuala Tanjong for the Republic of Korea on 27 September 1998. Thereafter she went missing with her 15 crew members from the Republic of Korea and China. On 21 December 1998, the Tenyu was subsequently found in the port of Zhang Jia Gang, China. She was operating under the name of Sanei 1 with a crew consisting of 14 Indonesians. The original crew consisting of two nationals of the Republic of Korea and 13 Chinese are feared murdered by the pirates.
.1 The IMB discovered that one of the 14 Indonesian crew on board the Sanei 1 was also an alleged pirate on board the Anna Sierra which was hijacked in September 1995. At that time this crew member and others were sent home by the Chinese authorities despite irrefutable evidence of their complicity in the hijacking of the Anna Sierra. The case of Anna Sierra was earlier reported by the IMB to the Maritime Safety Committee's sixty-sixth session in June 1996. It is hoped that on this occasion, the 14 Indonesians found on board the Sanei 1 will be prosecuted and not again sent home without charge by the Chinese authorities.
.2 On a positive note the IMB wishes to make a special mention of the following organizations for their excellent work in locating the Tenyu.
C Zhang Jia Gang Harbour Superintendency Administration (HSA)
C China Maritime Search and Rescue Center
C Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) of the People's Republic of China.
4 The third incident involves M.V. Cheung Son, a Panama flagged bulk carrier. She loaded a cargo of furnace slag in China for Malaysia. She went missing on 16 November 1998, about 200 miles east of Hong Kong in South China Sea. Her 23 Chinese crew members were murdered by the pirates. The Chinese police have reportedly arrested 20 persons suspected of being the pirates. They have confessed to the authorities that they gathered the crew together on the deck and shot them. The bodies were said to have been weighted, bound and gagged. Six bodies were recovered in the nets of Chinese fishing boats off the Southern Chinese port of Shantou.
Action requested of the Committee
5 Due to an unacceptable growing level of violence, there is an urgent need for the Committee to take note of the above incidents and to consider if there are any recommendations for dealing with similar situations.
