The ReCAAP ISC issued another incident alert concerning an incident to a tanker while underway in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait on Christmas day. This makes a total of 30 incidents in the Singapore Strait in 2019.
The incident
On 25 December 2019, at about 0028 hrs, the tanker ‘Stena Immortal’ was underway in the eastbound lane of the TSS in the Singapore Strait and bound for the port of Singapore, when six unarmed perpetrators were sighted in the engine room.
The chief engineer sighted the perpetrators and alerted the master. The ship’s alarm system was activated and the six perpetrators escaped empty-handed at the stern of the ship in an unidentified small boat. There was no confrontation between the perpetrators and the crew.
The master reported the incident to Singapore Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS) who initiated a safety navigational broadcast.
The Singapore Police Coast Guard boarded the ship upon her arrival at the port of Singapore.
The Indonesian authority, Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and Singapore Police Coast Guard were notified.
Background
Unauthorized boardings on ships transiting the Singapore Strait have been a key area of concern this year.
The ReCAAP ISC has issued four Incident Alerts on incidents occurred to ships while underway in the eastbound lane of Singapore Strait on 23 October 2019, on 29 November 2019, on 21 December 2019 and on 23 December 2019.
With this incident, a total of 30 incidents have been reported in the Singapore Strait in 2019.
Of these, 15 occurred to ships while underway in the westbound lane of the Singapore Strait and 15 incidents in the eastbound lane of the Strait.
Recommendations
The ReCAAP ISC is seriously concerned with the increase of incidents in the Singapore Strait. Since the perpetrators of these incidents are not arrested, there is a possibility of further incidents in the Singapore Strait. All ships are strongly advised to exercise utmost vigilance, adopt extra precautionary measures and report all incidents immediately to the nearest coastal State.
The ReCAAP ISC recommends to the law enforcement agencies of the littoral States to further step up surveillance, increase patrols and enhance cooperation and coordination among them in order to respond promptly to incidents.
