A new Malaysian coast guard with 72 vessels will begin patrolling the piracy-plagued Malacca Strait next month, the government said Monday. More than 4,000 personnel will eventually be trained to work for the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, which will begin surveillance on Nov. 30 along the busy shipping lane between peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia's Sumatra island, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said. Malaysia currently has no separate coast guard agency, and the 72 vessels will be transferred from the military and police, the national news agency Bernama quoted Najib as saying. The government will spend 578 million ringgit (US$154 million; ¤128 million) over the next two years on the agency's operations, which will be expanded to cover Malaysia's other territorial waters, he said. Officials reported 27 pirate attacks last year in the Malacca Strait, despite coordinated patrols by Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. More than 50,000 ships use the waterway annually, carrying half the world's oil and a third of its commerce. Last month, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand launched a joint air patrol program to help safeguard the 900-kilometer (550-mile) waterway.
