An attempted robbery took place onboard a Singaporean-flagged offshore supply vessel while anchored at Outer Anchorage, Luanda, Angola, in the Gulf of Guinea, on 5 December.
This is according to weekly report for 1-7 December by ReCAAP ISC, which did not reported any incident of piracy or armed robbery against ships in Asia, but only this incident in West Africa.
While the unidentified vessel was at anchor, the duty officer noticed a perpetrator at starboard forward freeing port passing a hose down to another perpetrator on a rowboat alongside the ship.
The duty officer shouted at the perpetrators and retreated to the accommodation area. The perpetrators escaped with the hose and the rowboat sailed away. There was no injury to crew.
The incident was reported to the ReCAAP ISC by ReCAAP Focal Point (Singapore) and is the latest in a series of actual and attempted incidents in the wider region of Gulf of Guinea. In particular, an increasing trend of crew kidnappings has raised the Gulf of Guinea HRA to a critical risk rating, according to maritime security firm Dryad Global.
See also: Suspicious approach against tanker off Lagos the 68th incident in JWC HRA in 2020
During 1-7 Dec 20, the ReCAAP ISC did not receive report of incident of piracy or armed robbery against ships in Asia. However, the ReCAAP ISC would like to advise ships to continue to exercise utmost vigilance, and littoral States to increase patrols and enforcement in areas of concern, including the Singapore Strait and at ports and anchorages,
…ReCAAP ISC advised.
