During the International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference in Asia, the Information Fusion Centre (IFC) focused on piracy and sea robbery incidents in the South East Asia, highlighting a 62% decline from 2015 to 2018.
Mainly, IFC is a Singapore-based maritime security information centre, consisting of 41 countries, including India, linking vessels and ocean monitoring.
Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Defence, Maliki Bin Osman, noted that 1,700 incidents were reported in Singapore.
This is a tip of the iceberg, as there are more cases which go unreported, adding to the magnitude and complexity of the problem.
… commented Mr Maliki.
He continued that the information provided by IFC concerning piracy attacks and incidents is more important than ever in addressing the risks and keeping the shipping industry alert.
Information sharing can bridge these information and time gaps, by providing actionable information to the correct parties, for operational responses, he said.
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In addition, the IFC noted that there’s a 92% decline in piracy and robbery incidents in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. Whereas, from 2015 to 2018, the region has seen a 62% drop, as the attacks decreased from 200 to 76.
There are many ‘unknown unknowns’ in the maritime environment such as unidentified vessels, unreported illegal activities, and smuggling routes. In fact, what happens in your immediate waters could invariably affect the security of mine.
Mr Maliki noted.
He concluded that despite IFC’s effort on providing up-to-date information, the shipping industry should seek ways to stay relevant, keeping in mind the rapid technological development.
