ReCAAP ISC reported three incidents in Asia, one of which was a piracy incident and two were armed robbery against ships incidents.
The piracy incident, CAT 21 in nature, occurred on board a fishing trawler in the South China Sea, while the two armed robbery incidents, both CAT 42 incidents occurred in the Singapore Strait (SS).
With the two incidents, a total of 43 incidents were reported in the SS since January 2022.
The ReCAAP ISC advises ships to continue to exercise enhanced vigilance when transiting areas of concern, including the Singapore Strait and the SuluCelebes Seas; and littoral States to increase patrols and enforcement in these areas
Abduction of crew
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), after careful consideration of inputs from stakeholders and counterparts with vital involvement in securing the SuluCelebes 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
ReCAAP ISC concluded.
