During the period 14-20 Jun 22, one CAT 41 incident of armed robbery against ships in Asia was reported to the ReCAAP ISC.
The incident occurred on 20 Jun 22, on board a bulk carrier while underway at approximately 7.3 nm northwest of Tanjung Pergam, Bintan Island (Indonesia), in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait.
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In the incident, the ship’s crew sighted two unauthorised persons in the steering gear room. The ship alarm was raised and crew mustered. A search on board the ship was conducted, with no further sighting of the perpetrators. Nothing was stolen. All crew members were accounted for with no report of injuries.
With this incident, a total of 26 incidents were reported in the Singapore Strait since January 2022 so far.
In its latest report for May 2022, ReCAAP ISC informed that 6 incidents of armed robbery were reported. No piracy incident was reported.
Of the six incidents, four incidents occurred on board ships while underway in the Singapore Strait (SS), one incident on board a ship while anchored at Jakarta Anchorage, Indonesia, and one incident on board a ship while underway in the Karimata Strait, Indonesia.
Recommendation
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 2 to Counter Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia.
