ReCAAP ISC: Straits of Malacca and Singapore remain an area of concern

He refers to key barriers in mitigating piracy in Asia, highlighting that absence of national laws to fight against piracy and armed robbery makes it difficult to prosecute criminals even if they are caught in the act and arrested. Concluding, Krishnaswamy Natarajan stresses that strong political will is needed to enforce heavy penalties that will deter the act of piracy and sea robbery.

SAFETY4SEA: According to latest ReCAAP ISC data, which are the maritime piracy hot spots in Asia today and the key alarming trends?

Krishnaswamy Natarajan: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Article 101 defines piracy as: “any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew of the passengers of a private ship . . . on the high seas outside coastal State jurisdiction against another ship.’’ The incidents in Asia are mostly robbery/petty theft against ships in archipelagic waters, territorial sea, ports, and anchorages which are under coastal State jurisdiction. These incidents are generally of low severity, with criminals targeting unsecured items such as ship stores, scrap metal or machinery spares. The perpetrators are generally non-confrontational. In Asia, the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS) remains an area of concern with an increase in number of incidents year-on-year, since 2019.  In 2022, 55 of 84 incidents (65%) reported in Asia occurred in the SOMS. The first half-year of 2023 has already witnessed 41 of 59 incidents (69%) in Asia in the SOMS. The ships particularly targeted are those ill-prepared or with low freeboard, as they become vulnerable when they slow down to manoeuvre in the congested, narrow, and restricted waters of SOMS. The vessels boarded include bulk carriers, tankers, and tug boats towing barges. The increase in sea robbery incidents in the SOMS is likely due to the economic situation in some of the littoral States, partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused financial and economic difficulties on local communities, and affected their livelihoods. Based on the data collected, there are a few areas in the SOMS where sea robbery incidents are more prone to occur. They include the waters off (i) Pulau Cula (Indonesia), (ii) Tanjung Tondong, Bintan Island (Indonesia) and (iii) Pulau Karimun Kecil (Indonesia). We advise shipmasters and crew to stay vigilant and keep active watch when transiting these areas.

S4S: What are the top priorities in your agenda for the next five years?

K.N.: I have two key priorities:

a. Build up the Centre’s capabilities to support the shipping industry in order to stay relevant

Use of data analytics to provide deeper insights on incidents, and enhancing the competence of ReCAAP Focal Points to support ReCAAP ISC, to enable the Centre to produce timely, accurate, and useful reports, publications and guidebooks to aid ship masters to detect, deter, deny, and delay the criminals in boarding the ship. We will continue to analyse the impact of external factors such as wind speed, weather conditions, moon phases and other aspects on past incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships. Using the data analytics, we conduct deeper analysis, drawing co-relations between different data sets/factors, provide better visual data to support our statistics, and highlight observed trends and insights. By incorporating these data and insights into our reports and publications, the ship masters will be able to make better informed decisions when planning their voyages through the areas of concern.

b.  Encourage shared responsibility & collective efforts of all stakeholders

Piracy and armed robbery incidents are invariably transnational maritime crimes, which  require collaborative, cooperative, and coordinated efforts of all stakeholders both on land and sea within the nation and neighbouring countries. The Centre will continue to organise events to engage the shipping industry and law enforcement agencies, and share the best management practices and case studies of successful arrests of perpetrators as a result of timely reporting by ship masters and prompt response by law enforcement agencies.

S4S: Which are the key barriers in mitigating maritime piracy in Asia, and how could the industry overcome them?

K.N.: There are three main barriers to mitigating piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia. Firstly, littoral States may have limitations when it comes to deploying their navies and coast guards to conduct patrols and monitor illegal activities within their territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). Countries with long coast lines need to prioritise resources when it comes to monitoring and dealing with maritime threats of differing severity. Secondly, UNCLOS provides no penalty for piracy and armed robbery against ships. As such, individual countries must enact laws against piracy and sea robbery. Unfortunately, not many countries have laws in their legislation to deal with piracy and armed robbery against ships. As such, it can be difficult to prosecute the criminals in court even if they are caught in the act and arrested. Also, if the sentence by the court is lenient, it may not be an effective deterrent against piracy and sea robbery. Lastly, under-reporting. Some ship masters may be reluctant to report incidents of illegal boarding as it may implicate themselves. They may also consider not reporting to the relevant authorities as they consider the loss of low value items as trivial, and do not wish to be held back for investigation. Delays are likely to result in greater monetary losses for the shipping company. Others feel that it would deter relationship with the ports as they frequent the area.

S4S: What successes from the past can we apply today to address maritime piracy in Asia?

K.N.: I would like to mention two regional initiatives which have been successful in helping to combat piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia.

Malacca Straits Patrol

The first initiative is the Malacca Straits Patrol (MSP), launched in 2004. It is a set of cooperative measures undertaken by Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand to ensure maritime security in SOMS. Under the MSP, participating navies conduct coordinated sea patrols while facilitating the sharing of information between ships and their naval operational centres. To reinforce the sea patrols, the participating countries also conduct air patrols and surveillance.

Contact Group on Sulu and Celebes Seas

The second initiative is the Contact Group on Sulu and Celebes Seas, a trilateral mechanism bringing together maritime law enforcement agencies from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Regular meetings and collaboration between group members have helped strengthen cooperation and response to maritime threats in the Sulu and Celebes Seas. These threats include abduction of crew for ransom, wildlife trafficking and terrorism activities.

S4S: What does shipping have to expect in the future piracy-wise?

K.N.: Many of the world’s industries rely on sea freight to move goods from one country to another, uninterrupted and free from maritime incidents. Due to ships which are increasingly digitalized, supply chains are increasingly vulnerable to the emerging threat of piracy through cyberattacks.

Cyberattacks can affect a ship’s navigation systems, cargo, and passenger manifests, berthing and loading operations, environmental controls and asset tracking systems and software.

The internet-enabled nature of freight provides opportunities for cyber pirates to gain access to ship systems with a view to paralyse/disrupt and take control of ship or diverting operations for theft or ransom.

S4S: What can shipping do to protect seafarers from piracy threat successfully? What are your suggestions?

K.N.: ReCAAP ISC recommends that shipping companies follow the below guidelines to protect seafarers from the threat of piracy and armed robbery against ships.

• Keep abreast of the latest situation (at www.recaap.org) particularly areas of concern;
• Tune-in to advisories and navigational broadcasts by the authorities;
• Maximise vigilance, lookouts for suspicious small boats and increase watch keeping;
• Keep CCTV and other devices, including communication equipment, operational/in good working condition, to alert ship crew and record movement of perpetrators;
• Rounds of ship’s compartment be taken and locked prior to entering the area of concern and record in the log book;
• Ensure all doors and hatches having direct access to the bridge, accommodation, store rooms, steering gear compartment and engine room are closed/properly secured;
• Maintain communication with shipping company by providing periodic updates and establishing daily communication checks;
• Leverage on technology such as intruder sensors, CCTV, alarms, etc., to complement existing manual measures.
• Report all incidents, suspicious activities, and presence of suspicious small boats in the vicinity to the nearest coastal State RCC and flag State; and
• Sound alarm when suspicious boats are sighted loitering in the vicinity of the ship.

Shipping companies are also encouraged to refer to the Regional Guide 2 to Counter Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia, in particular Section 7 on Ship Protection Measures for more information.

S4S: When it comes to maritime security, is there a need for additional measures or/and stakeholders’ awareness and collaboration? Where should the industry focus on?

K.N.: The fight against piracy and armed robbery against ships is a shared responsibility, and all stakeholders need to communicate, collaborate, cooperate, and coordinate to achieve the desired outcome. In particular, the shipping community and the law enforcement agencies need to remain vigilant and not become complacent, just because many of the incidents are of lower severity. Any ship boarding incident may lead to the crew being harmed. Furthermore, when the watch crew is distracted, the ship maybe subjected to close quarter situation or even the risk of collisions in restricted waters.

While the number of incidents of piracy and sea robbery in Asia have remained relatively stable over the past few years, the situation may deteriorate anytime without forewarning, especially in times of economic downturn when some may choose to turn to sea to supplement their livelihood.

Optimal deployment of resources and timely incident reporting

As manpower and patrol vessels are limited, it is important for the coastal States with long coastlines and large sea areas to prioritise resources for patrol with focused deterrence efforts on areas with a higher number of incidents. At the same time, we encourage ship masters to report all incidents (attempted or actual boarding) in a timely manner to the nearest coastal State RCC, so that law enforcement agencies can provide the necessary assistance and criminals have less chance of getting away.

Sharing of best practices

The ReCAAP network allows law enforcement agencies of member States to share information and exchange best practices with each other, thus enhancing each country’s competency in dealing with piracy and sea robbery threats. We also hold regular dialogues with the shipping community to ensure they are kept abreast of the latest piracy/sea robbery data, and are equipped with the knowledge and skills to deter and deal with piracy and armed robbery against ships.

S4S: What is your wish list for the industry and/or regulators and all parties involved towards maritime piracy and due diligence? What is your key message to industry stakeholders with respect to maritime security?

K.N.: Combating piracy and armed robbery against ships is not the sole responsibility of the coastal States, international organizations, or the shipping industry, but a common responsibility shared by all since it is a transnational maritime crime.  I hope that all maritime stakeholders, shipping companies/agents and government agencies will continue to strengthen the cooperative and collaborative mechanism and build trust and cooperation to effectively deal with the maritime crimes.  In addition, I would like to encourage ship masters and crew to report all incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships to the nearest coastal State RCC and flag State in a timely manner, referring to the Poster on the Contact Details for Reporting of Incidents of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia. Timely reporting of actual or attempted ship boarding can help law enforcement agencies arrest perpetrators swiftly, so that criminals cannot escape scot-free. Ship masters and crew should also exercise vigilance and adopt appropriate preventive measures taking reference from the Regional Guide 2 to Counter Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia.

S4S: If you could change one thing that would have an either profound or immediate impact on maritime security, what this one thing would it be and why?

K.N.: The political will to stamp out maritime crime, with heavy penalties to deter the act of piracy and sea robbery.

The views presented are only those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.