Indonesia was the most dangerous country in the world for seafarers during the first nine months of this year, an international piracy watchdog said today.

Out of a total of 251 pirate attacks worldwide, 70 took place in Indonesian waters, said the Malaysia-based Piracy Reporting Centre of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

Although the number of raids in Indonesia was down from 87 in the same period last year, the southeast Asian archipelago still headed the list of piracy-prone countries.

There were another 25 attacks in the Malacca Strait between Indonesia and Malaysia, while 18 were reported in Nigeria, 15 in Bangladesh, 10 in India and eight in the Singapore Strait, the centre said.

Thirty crew members were killed in the attacks around the world and 21 were still missing.

The IMB hailed a plan by Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore to mount coordinated patrols in the Malacca Strait to curb piracy. But it pushed for a policy of "hot pursuit" under which naval vessels from one country could enter the waters of another in an attempt to capture pirates.

"We hope for more cooperation and patrols in the waters off Indonesia under the new president (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) to stamp out piracy," Noel Choong, regional manager of the Piracy Reporting Centre, told AFP .

The IMB said oil and gas tankers and bulk carriers were popular targets as they moved slowly and were low in the water when fully laden. There were 67 attacks on tankers and 52 on bulk carriers.

Tanker targets

The pirate attacks have fuelled fears that terrorists could hijack a tanker to use as a floating bomb in a maritime version of the September 11 attacks on the United States.

"We do not have any evidence to suggest that terror groups are planning attacks using tankers but we cannot discount the possibility," Choong said.

In one incident, an Indonesian tanker MT Cherry 201 was attacked and hijacked by armed pirates in the Malacca Strait on Jan 5.

The pirates took 13 crew members hostage but released the captain to negotiate a ransom. After a month of negotiations, four cremmen were shot dead while the others managed to escape.

The IMB said a total of 186 crew members were taken hostage during the period.