Secretary-general Efthimios Mitropoulos told a shipping conference here safeguarding the security of the straits, which is bordered by Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, is critical to the continued flow of global commerce.

"With Southeast Asia still unfortunately reporting the highest number of pirate attacks globally, there is clearly a fear that terrorists could resort to pirate-style tactics, or even work in concert with pirates to perpertrate their evil deeds," he told the Asian Shipowners Forum.

"And there have been warnings that an uptrend in crew abductions could signal a move by terrorists to train themsvelves in operating and navigating large commercial vessels.

"Although criminals and terrorists may operate in similar ways, let us not forget that terrorists aim to use their violence in pursuit of strategic objectives, and all too frequently, mass destruction."

Mitropoulos, who is here as a special guest of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, did not say how many shipping crew have been abducted.

However, the London-based International Maritime Burueau has said that the Malacca Straits, especially the waters on the Indonesian side, has the highest rate of piracy incidents in the world.

In one incident last year, an Indonesian-registered chemical tanker was briefly hijacked in Indonesian waters and the assailants kidnapped the captain and first officer.

Andrew Tan, a security analysts with the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies here, said the hijackers practiced manouevring the vessel for an hour before leaving.

Meanwhile, an association of Asia-Pacific shipowners, comprising top executives from regional commercial lines, "strongly urged" countries bordering the Malacca Straits to take steps to curb pirate attacks.

These states should "immediately and as a matter of urgency conclude and implement multilateral cooperation agreements and embark on joint coordinated naval or marine police patrols to ensure the safe passage of ships in their waters," the group said in a statement after their meeting in Singapore.

Teo Siong Seng, chairman of the forum, said the shipowners agreed that Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia should coordinate with the IMO "to ensure that effective action is taken to combat piracy and armed robbery at sea."

Statements by Singapore about multilateral efforts to protect the straits, including possible US involvement, have riled Indonesia and Malaysia, whose officials say this could impinge on their sovereignty.

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