Five incidents of armed robbery against ships in Asia, comprising one CAT 21 incident, one CAT 32 incident, two CAT 43 incidents and one attempted incident, were reported to the ReCAAP ISC, from 22 to 28 November.
Of the five incidents, three incidents occurred to ships while underway in the Singapore Strait (SS); one incident occurred to a bulk carrier while anchored at Outer Anchorage Mongla, Bangladesh; and an attempted incident occurred to a container ship while anchored in the South China Sea.
With the three incidents reported in the SS, a total of 51 incidents were reported in the SS since January 2022. The ReCAAP ISC is concerned with the continued occurrence of incidents in the SS.
Downgrading of threat level
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), after careful consideration of inputs from stakeholders and counterparts with vital involvement in securing the Sulu-Celebes Seas maritime security measure, recommends the downgrading of the threat on the ‘Abduction of crew for ransom in the Sulu-Celebes Seas’ from ‘POTENTIALLY HIGH’ to ‘MODERATE’. The MODERATE threat level implies that ‘Incidents are possible to occur but are relatively less severe in nature’.
For ships transiting the area, the ship masters and crew are strongly encouraged to exercise extra vigilance and report all incidents immediately to the Operation Centres of the Philippines and Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) of Malaysia.
Recommendations
Ship master and crew are to report all incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships to the nearest coastal State and flag State, exercise vigilance and adopt appropriate preventive measures taking reference from the Regional Guide 2 to Counter Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia.
