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reporting an attack prior to or during the attack, and provided the position of the ship can be established (by a message from the ship under attack, or by · direction finding) radar operators could be requested to try to follow any radar echo leaving the echo of the ship under attack. Whenever this is possible, law enforcement agencies could be kept continuously updated on the current position of the craft used by the attackers, which would greatly facilitate the task of apprehending pirates and armed robbers.
18 As noted before, the craft used by attackers are often constructed of
ucted non-metallic material, are generally quite small in size and may not always give a strong radar echo which can be followed. However, the Group was informed that custom authorities in Indonesia have established for anti-smuggling purposes a shore-based high resolution radar system consisting of radars situated on two islands (Jantan Hill on Great Karimun Island and Dangas Hill on Batam Island) giving coverage of the Eastern part of the Malacca Strait and of the Singapore Strait. This radar system is specially designed for coastal surveillance and is reported to be capable of detecting small targets even in bad weather conditions. Assuming that smugglers' craft are of types similar to the craft used by armed robbers, it seems likely that this radar system could also be suitable for anti-piracy purposes. This possibility should be further studied and, if suitable, communication links and procedures should be established so that such systems may be utilized rapidly and effectively in cases of piracy attacks within the coverage area of such radar systems.
19
In the Malacca/Singapore Strait area, Singapore has established an INMARSAT Coast Earth Station (CES), which provides both INMARSAT-A and -C services, including EGC. Singapore CES operates into the Pacific Ocean satellite and thus only marginally covers the Singapore Strait and the eastern part of the Malacca Strait. It does not cover the eastern part of the Malacca Strait. This has certain disadvantages, because ships in the area which use the INMARSAT system for the transmission of piracy or distress messages, will normally send the message through the Indian Ocean satellite to one of the stations operating in that ocean area, e.g. to a European station. In such cases, "Priority 3 messages" will be routed to the associated Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCC) in the relevant country, which will subsequently have to establish contact with the RCC responsible for the area from which the message has originated. Such communication links are discussed under the heading "Communications between shore authorities".
20 The problem of limited INMARSAT coverage from Singapore CES could, of course, be solved by establishing another INMARSAT station (in Singapore or elsewhere in the area) operating into the Indian Ocean satellite, but this would require large investments. Another possibility is for ships to use other Asian Coast Earth Stations operating into the Indian Ocean satellite, but the need for communication lines as well as possible language problems would not be significantly different from using European Coast Earth Stations.
In the above discussion, much emphasis has been placed on piracy and armed robbery. However, most of the information and evaluation are equally relevant and valid in relation to radiocommunications for safety of navigation and pollution prevention.
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