The ReCAAP ISC has issued its Quarterly Report, reporting a total of 50 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia, on January-September 2017. The overall situation of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia continues to improve with the lowest number of incidents reported at this period, compared to the same period of 2007-2016.
Highlights
- Of the 50 incidents, seven were incidents of piracy and 43 were incidents of armed robbery against ships.
- The total number of incidents reported during January-September 2017 has decreased by 15% compared to the same period in 2016. A total of 59 incidents were reported during January-September 2016.
- During January-September 2017, there were improvements at ports and anchorages in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.
- However, there has been an increase in the number of incidents reported at certain ports and anchorages in Philippines. A total of 11 incidents were reported in Philippines (off Batangas and Manila) during January-September 2017 compared to three incidents reported there during the same period in 2016.
- No incident of abduction of crew from ships while underway in the Sulu-Celebes Sea and waters off Eastern Sabah was reported since the last attempted incident reported in April 2017. As of 30 Sep 2017, 14 crew are still being held in captivity out of the 59 crew abducted since March 2016.
The graph shows the number of incidents reported during January-September of 2007-2017. The situation of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia continues to improve. The number of incidents reported during January-September 2017 was the lowest compared to the same period in the past 10 years (2007-2016).
The following graph shows the number of reported incidents that occurred each month between September 2016 and September 2017. The number of incidents fluctuated between two incidents and 12 incidents throughout the one-year period. The highest total number of incidents occurred in November 2016 with a total of 12 incidents comprising seven actual incidents and five attempted incidents. The five attempted incidents involved the abduction of crew for ransom.
“The ReCAAP ISC emphasises the importance of collective and shared responsibility among all stakeholders including the littoral States’ enforcement agencies and the shipping industry to institutionalise their efforts on land and at sea,” ReCAAP said.
Further information may be found by reading the full report:
