In its weekly report for 25 September – 1 October, ReCAAP ISC informed of one actual incident of armed robbery against ships, involving the Barbados-flagged bulk carrier ‘Pindos’, while anchored at Muara Berau Anchorage, Indonesia.
While at anchor, about four or five perpetrators armed with knives boarded the ship twice within three hours. The perpetrators climbed the ship through the anchor chain from a small boat.
The duty watchman noticed that the perpetrators were on the forecastle deck on both occasions. He raised the alarm, mustered the crew, and reported incident to the port control. Eventually, the perpetrators escaped with stores stolen form the forecastle store. There were no injuries.
The location of the incident is shown herebelow:
The ReCAAP ISC urges ship master and crew to report all incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships to the nearest coastal State and flag State, exercise vigilance and adopt relevant preventive measures taking reference from the Regional Guide to Counter Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia.
Meanwhile, as the threat of abduction of crew in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and off eastern Sabah remains, ReCAAP ISC maintains its advisory issued via the ReCAAP ISC Incident Alert dated 21 November 2016 to all ships to reroute from the area, where possible. Otherwise, ship masters and crew are strongly urged to exercise extra vigilance while transiting the Sulu-Celebes Seas and eastern Sabah region.