Crime in the busy Malacca Strait is on the wane with no incidents reported since October, Malaysia's coast guard said yesterday.

Coast guard director Abdul Hadi Rashid said the number of crimes recorded in the strait, which has become notorious for piracy, had also dropped in 2005 compared to the previous year.

He said only 11 maritime crimes, including piracy and ship hijackings, were seen during the first nine months of 2005 compared to 37 cases for all of 2004. He attributed the improvement to better enforcement efforts, the state Bernama news agency reported.

"Many who were earlier skeptical on our ability now see us being better prepared. We are working in a more integrated and well-planned manner," he was quoted as saying.

Military air patrols

Malaysia last year set up the coast guard unit to boost security in the strait, which separates the Indonesian island of Sumatra and peninsular Malaysia.

Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore have also launched joint military air patrols to counter piracy and terrorism in the area.

The Malacca Strait is one of the world's most important waterways, with 50,000 ships carrying about one-third of world trade passing through it each year.

It has earned a reputation for being notoriously vulnerable to pirate attacks.