In its weekly piracy report for 26 January-1 February, ReCAAP ISC informed of four incidents of armed robbery against ships. Of these, two occurred on ships while underway in the Singapore Strait, one to a ship while anchored at Belawan Anchorage, Indonesia and one occurred to a ship berthed at Makar Wharf, General Santos City, Philippines.
The three incidents were classified as CAT 3 incidents and one was classified as CAT 4, where the perpetrators are not armed and the crew not harmed.
The two incidents in the Singapore Strait contained in the weekly report were also addressed in a special Incident Alert by ReCAAP ISC released last week, due to concerns on the continued occurrence of incidents in the region. A total of three incidents have occurred against ships in the Singapore Strait within January 2021.
The incidents
-Incident #1
The first incident involves the Bahamas-flagged LNG carrier Suruya Aki, while anchored at Belawan, off North West of Sumatra, Indonesia, in the early morning hours of 31st January.
While at anchor, two perpetrators boarded the ship. One of them was armed with a knife. All the crew took refuge in the citadel, and reported the incident to Belawan VTS and their ship company.
The Indonesian Marine Police boarded the ship and conducted a search. No perpetrator was found. The crew was safe and some of the ship’s stores were stolen.
-Incident #2
The second incident involves the Singaporean-flagged container ship Kota Nebula, while at Makar Wharf Berth No. 5 to 7, General Santos City, Philippines, in the early morning hours of 30 January.
While at berth, the watchkeeping crew sighted two perpetrators on the starboard lifeboat deck. The general alarm was raised.
All crew was notified of the perpetrators and their location via the PA system. The crew proceeded to the starboard lifeboat deck. The perpetrators jumped into the water and fled in a small motor banca upon discovered that they had been sighted.
The crew was not injured. A search was conducted, and two units each of the fire nozzles and the fire hydrant caps were reported missing. The master reported the incident to the flag administration and local authorities.
-Incident #3
On 28 Jan at about 2232 hrs, bulk carrier, Elvia was underway at about 6 nm northwest of Tanjung Pergam, Pulau Bintan, Indonesia when 10 unauthorised persons armed with knives were sighted in the engine room. The alarm was raised and crew mustered.
A search on board the ship was conducted. At 2338 hrs, the master updated VTIS East that the search on board was completed with no further sighting of the unauthorised persons. Nothing was stolen and the crew was safe.
No assistance was required and the ship continued on her voyage to China. A safety navigational broadcast was initiated. The RSN’s MSTF and Singapore Police Coast Guard were informed, and the Malaysian and Indonesian authorities were notified.
-Incident #4
On 29 Jan at about 0221 hrs, the general cargo ship Vantage Wave was underway at about 5.8 nm northwest of Tanjung Pergam, Pulau Bintan, Indonesia when three unauthorised persons armed with knives were sighted in the engine room. The alarm was raised and crew mustered.
A search on board the ship was conducted. At 0322 hrs, the master updated VTIS East that the search on board was completed with no further sighting of the unauthorised persons.
Nothing was stolen and the crew was safe. No assistance was required and the ship continued voyage to Caofeidian, China. A safety navigational broadcast was initiated. The RSN’s MSTF and Singapore Police Coast Guard were informed, and the Malaysian and Indonesian authorities were notified.
