In January 2023, seven incidents of armed robbery against ships (occurred in internal waters, archipelagic waters and territorial seas) were reported in Asia. No incident of piracy (occurred on high seas) was reported. The situation in the Singapore Strait (SS) is an area of concern, with reports of four incidents, account for 57% (four of seven incidents) of the total number of incidents in Asia in January 2023.
There continues to be no incident of abduction of crew for ransom in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah in January 2023. The last known incident occurred on 17 Jan 20. As the threat of abduction of crew has diminished, the Philippine Coast Guard recommends downgrading the threat from ‘potentially high’ to ‘moderate’ which implies that ‘incidents are possible to occur but are relatively less severe in nature’. The ReCAAP ISC has accordingly
updated its Advisory to all ships to consider re-route from the area as an option.
Significance levels of incidents
To provide a qualitative perspective of the incidents, the ReCAAP ISC classifies each actual incident into one of the four categories to determine its significance level (CAT 1 being most severe incident, CAT 2 moderately severe, CAT 3 less severe and CAT 4 least severe). Refer to the Appendix on page 16 of this report on the ‘Methodology in classifying incidents’ for the description of each category. Of the seven actual incidents reported in January 2023, two were CAT 3 incidents and five were CAT 4 incidents.
- CAT 3. The two CAT 3 incidents occurred on board ships while underway off Pulau Cula (Indonesia), in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in SS. Both incidents occurred on board bulk carriers, and involved perpetrators who were armed with knives in one incident, and an adjustable wrench in another. The crew were not injured in both incidents and nothing was stolen.
- CAT 4. Of the five CAT 4 incidents, two incidents occurred in the SS on board unmanned barges towed by tug boats. Scrap metals were reported stolen in both incidents. The other three incidents occurred to ships anchored at Kandla Anchorage, India, Balongan Anchorage, Indonesia and Panjang Port, Indonesia. The crew was not injured in all three incidents. Some brass valves, stainless steel bolts, and nuts were stolen in the incident at Kandla Anchorage, and nothing was stolen in the other two incidents in Indonesia.
Armed robbery
A total of four incidents of armed robbery against ships were reported in the SS in January 2023. All were actual incidents. Of the four incidents, two incidents occurred in the eastbound lane of the TSS in the SS, and two incidents in the westbound lane of the TSS.
January 2023
There was no report of incident of abduction of crew for ransom in January 2023. The last known incident occurred on 17 Jan 20 off Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia. No crew is currently held in captivity by the ASG. The Philippines, Malaysian and Indonesian authorities continued to maintain surveillance and intensify military operations to neutralise the ASG.
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