Maritime security broker Asket Ltd. issued an alert informing of an attempted boarding onboard a bulk carrier, while anchored in Batangas, Philippines.
During routine rounds, duty crew onboard an anchored ship noticed an unauthorized person attempting to board the ship from a small boat using a hook attached with a rope. The duty crew informed the bridge and the SSO. An alarm was activated and the crew mustered. Seeing the alerted crew, the person aborted the boarding attempt and escaped.
The incident was reported to the local agent and the Coast Guard.
In line with an 15% decrease in piracy figures for the first half of 2018, piracy and armed robbery incidents in the Philippines ports and anchorages have declined, according to ReCAAP ISC’s recently published half yearly report.
Namely, during January-June 2018, one incident was reported at the South Harbour Anchorage Area, Manila compared to eight incidents during the same period in 2017. The incident reported during January-June 2018 involved seven perpetrators.
The 11-year trend shows that majority of incidents in this region involved small group of 1 to 3 men. In addition, over the last 11 years, more than one-third of these incidents reported that the crew did not suffer from injuries. There were three incidents reported that the crew was killed; and these occurred during January-June of 2008 and 2009.
Stores were commonly targeted at ports and anchorages in the Philippines. The common items stolen were breathing apparatus, immersion suit, fire hose, fire nozzle, welding cable/ machine, fire hydrant cap/cover etc.