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n an attempt to improve security in the country'€™s territorial waters, the Indonesian Navy'€™s Western Fleet (Armabar) plans to launch a piracy prevention program.

'€œThis program aims to raise awareness among people so that they will not participate in any sea crime activities should criminals ask them to rob and hijack vessels, or steal their parts,'€ Armabar'€™s commander Rear Admiral Achmad Taufiqoerrachman, said in Jakarta on Thursday.

Taufiqoerrachman said that the program would be targeted especially at younger people as many of those arrested by Armabar were teenagers who were unaware of the crimes they were committing.

'€œWe will go to villages where most of the piracy suspects come from and start the campaign,'€ he said.

The first area targeted by the campaign includes Riau Islands as well as areas in and around the Malacca Strait and Natuna Island, which have long been known as hotbeds of pirate activity.

In the program, Armabar will involve the local police and regional administrations.

Taufiqoerrachman said the program came at the right time as the number of criminal activities in the Malacca Strait had declined significantly.

'€œWe have no more crimes in the area. Now is the time to conduct this public campaign, so that the area can continue to be free from any sea criminal activities,'€ he said.

The Malacca Strait, located between Indonesia and Malaysia, has long been a hotbed of criminal activity, such as robbery and piracy, and has gained a lot of media attention in recent years.

The strait is an important global shipping route for vessels carrying anything from crude oil to finished products from all over the world.

According to the Navy'€™s investigation, at least 90 percent of piracy cases in the area are instigated, often for insurance purposes, by people, both Indonesian and foreigners, other than the pirates themselves.

Meanwhile in its interdiction efforts, Armabar have arrested three pirates who stole light crude oil (LCO) from the tanker MT Joaquim last August in the Malacca Strait.

The three suspects; identified only as HU, AS and AG were arrested in Bandung, West Java, while the ship Kharisma 9 that the group used to run their operation was found in the waters off Banten.

The ship'€™s name had been changed to Union Star.

The Navy investigation discovered that the mastermind behind the LCO piracy was a woman, identified only as E, and a military deserter, identified only as A.

'€œI was paid Rp 10 million [US$733] by E after successfully completing the operation,'€ one of the suspects, HU, told reporters. '€œMy job was to take the stolen LCO and distribute it to another vessel that had been arranged by E,'€

According to HU, he had collaborated with E for one year, and during that time, he managed to steal LCO from tankers four times.

HU said that he was unaware that his group had engaged in criminal activity saying that he considered himself to be an employee of E.

Taufiqoerrachman said that he would launch a complete investigation into the case.

In November, Armabar'€™s Rapid Response Unit apprehended the suspected leader of a pirate group operating in the Malacca Strait, which had been running an operation stealing from ships in those waters.

Also in November, the Navy arrested five members of a gang that stole equipment from ships in the Malacca Strait.