This timeline of piracy in the 1990s is a chronological list of key events involving
pirates between 1990 and 1999.
Events
1995
September 13 - The freighter Anna Sierra is boarded off the coast of
Thailand after a group numbering 30 men overtook the ship in a motorboat. Heavily armed, the crew were forced to surrender and eventually set adrift in the ship's lifeboats. The pirates set sail for China and, repainting and refitting the ship within two days, arrived in
Beihai where they used forged papers to sell the ship's cargo of sugar. The ship was eventually located following the crew's rescue and, after a legal battle between the ship's owners, the ship was beached at Beihai. The pirates, although held in Chinese custody, were not charged by authorities.[1][2]
Several hours after leaving
Singapore, the
tanker Succi is attacked and boarded by several armed men and, setting the crew adrift in a lifeboat, successfully made their escape. Although the crew were later rescued, the tanker has not been recovered.[citation needed]
Summer - A British couple are attacked by pirates, armed with assault rifles and grenades, while sailing around the Greek island of
Corfu.[citation needed]
1998
The London-based
International Maritime Bureau reported worldwide acts of piracy had fallen to 198 as compared to 247 from the previous year as well as 67 deaths.[citation needed]
The 23 crew members of the MV Cheung Son were murdered by pirates.[5] Eventually captured by Chinese authorities, the 13 suspects were later executed.[6]
April – After seizing the Malaysian vessel Petro-Ranger, the pirates sailed to China where the ship was eventually stopped and impounded by authorities. The pirates on board were detained by Chinese authorities, and were later released four months later. 12 people were also charged by Indonesian authorities.[7][8]
September – The Japanese cargo ship Tenyu disappeared with a cargo of
aluminium whilst en route from
Indonesia to
Korea. It was found three months later by Chinese authorities while docked at
Zhangjiagang, its 14 crew members presumed dead.[9]
September – The United Kingdom abolished the
death penalty for piracy.[10]
1999
April - The Cypriot-registered fuel tanker Valiant Carrier is hijacked in the
Malacca Strait when pirates stormed the ship after throwing
Molotov cocktails onto the deck. During the attack three of ship's officers are stabbed, as well a seven-month-old girl, before leaving the ship adrift. The crew is able to regain control of the ship, avoiding collision with a nearby island and preventing a massive oil spill.[11][12]
April 28 - Holding a ships officer hostage, a ship is robbed of $9,926 and the master's gold bangle after being boarded in
Bangka Strait,
Indonesia.[13]
June 8 - A ship bound for
Songkhla, Thailand is boarded by pirates in two speedboats off the east coast of
Malaysia and hijacked. While holding one crew member hostage, the remaining sixteen crewmen were forced into a lifeboat and set adrift, sailing away with 2,060 tons of gas oil before Chinese authorities eventually detained the ship.[13]
October 22 - The Japanese cargo ship Alondra Rainbow is attacked and boarded by ten pirates, eventually setting 17 crew members adrift on one of the ship's life rafts. Without food or water, the sailors drift on the open sea for more than a week before being rescued. The ship was later sighted by the Indian navy, which captured it after a two-day chase. 15 people were convicted, with one dying in custody, and the other 14 sentenced to six months to seven years imprisonment.[14]
2000
Treasure hunter
Barry Clifford finds an early 18th-century wreck in the harbor of
Île Sainte-Marie,
Madagascar. Archaeologist
John De Bry identifies the remains as those of the Fiery Dragon,
Christopher Condent's pirate
sloop.[15] However, a
UNESCO analysis of Clifford's discovery reported that Clifford had instead found an unrelated ship of Asian origin.[16]
February - Contact is lost with the cargo ship MV Hualien off the coast of
Taiwan. Neither the ship nor its 21 crew members are found.[17]
February 23 - The Japanese tanker MT Global Mars, carryiang 6,000 metric tons of
palm oil, is attacked off the coast of
Malaysia by pirates armed with automatic weapons. The ships 18 crew members were held hostage for 10 days and set adrift in a small boat before being rescued off the coast of
Thailand on March 10. The ship was located four months later near Hong Kong. It had been renamed and had to stop due to engine trouble. 20 people were arrested.[18]