ReCAAP issues new report on siphoning incidents in Asia

Special Report on Incidents of Siphoning of Fuel/Oil at Sea in Asia – Part II

Number of Siphoning Incidents

ReCAAP ISC released the second part of a special report on incidents of siphoning of fuel/oil at sea in Asia.

The ReCAAP ISC was concern and has been working closely with the shipping industry, governmental agencies, international organisations and ReCAAP Focal Points in sharing latest situation updates, case studies for purpose of highlighting best practices and sharing of lessons learned, encouraging pro-active actions by respective agencies in addressing the situation collectively.

Generally, the modus operandi of the perpetrators in most of the siphoning incidents was fairly similar.The perpetrators were interested in the manifest of fuel/oil onboard the vessel; and had no intention to hijack the vessel or kidnap the crew. Upon boarding the vessel, they tied the crew and locked them in the cabin, steered the vessel to another location to conduct the siphoning onto another vessel which would come alongside. After completion of the siphoning, the perpetrators would destroy the vessels communication and navigation equipment, stole the crews cash and personal belongings before leaving the vessel. The crew was not harmed and there was no report of violence involved.

The modus operandi of the 12 incidents of siphoning which are summarised below:

Size of Vessel

Of the 12 incidents, majority involved tankers of less than 2000 GT. Seven incidents involved tankers between 1000-2000 GT, two incidents involved tankers of 2148 GT and 2223 GT, one incident involved a tanker of 3238 GT, one incident involved a tanker of 4080 GT and one incident involved a tanker of 5153 GT.

Time of Incident

All boardings occurred during hours of darkness, with nine boardings took place between 2000-2345 hrs, two between 0055-0205 hrs, and one at 0600 hrs.

Duration the Perpetrators were onboard Vessels

It varied from case to case, and likely involved different groups of perpetrators although it may be the same for some incidents due to the similarity in modus operandi. Of the nine incidents with reports on the duration the perpetrators remained onboard the vessels; six incidents involved the perpetrators onboard the vessels for estimated 6-10 hours, and two incidents for estimated 4-5 hours. However, in the incident involving Srikandi 515, the owner lost the tanker for 49 days (9 Oct-27 Nov 14). Investigation is ongoing as to what happened to the vessel during this period.

Number of Perpetrators

Of the 12 incidents, six involved 8-10 perpetrators, three involved 5-7 perpetrators, one involved 16 perpetrators and two involved 25-26 perpetrators.

Weapons

Majority of the incidents involved the perpetrators armed with knives and firearms (such as guns, handguns, pistols). Of the 12 incidents, eight reported that the perpetrators were armed with knives and firearms. Notably, there was no report of the firearms being discharged.

Treatment of Crew

In most of the incidents, the crew was tied and locked in the mess room or engine control room when the perpetrators steered the vessel to the South China Sea to carry out siphoning. The crew was not injured in most of the incidents except for minor injury sustained by the crew in two incidents; namely onboard Sri Phangnga and Sunrise 689.

Action by the Crew

Of the 12 incidents, SSAS was activated in four incidents, of which the maritime enforcement agencies responded to three incidents, namely Ai Maru on 14 Jun 14 (where six warships from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore were deployed), Oriental Glory on 16 Jul 14 (where KD Trengganu from the Royal Malaysian Navy was deployed), and Suratchanya on 15 Oct 14 (where three vessels from the Indonesian Navy were reportedly deployed).

For more information please read the report by clicking below:

Source and Image Credit: ReCAAP