In its weekly report for 11-18 February, ReCAAP ISC informed of two incidents of armed robbery against ships in Asia: one at an Indian anchorage and another one off Indonesia, in the Singapore Strait. The latter is the seventh incident reported in the region this year. There was also an incident outside Asia, on the Arabian Sea.
The CAT 3 incident occurred at Kakinada anchorage, India; and the CAT 4 incident occurred while underway off Karimun Besar Island, Indonesia in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait.
The latter is the 7th incident in the region in 2020. In January 2020 alone, four incidents were reported in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait.
During the last 5 months, 24 incidents were reported in the eastbound lane of TSS.
The first incident involved the Niue-flagged offshore supply vessel ‘Evimeria’, in the early morning hours of 11 February.
While anchored at Kakinada Anchorage, India, four perpetrators armed with knives boarded the ship from a blue and yellow craft via the starboard quarter through the ship’s tyre fender.
The master raised the alarm and the perpetrators escaped with 20m of mooring rope.
The master reported the incident to Kakinada Port Control, who informed the coastal security police. The crew was not injured.
The second incident involved the Malaysian-flagged tug boat Sung Fatt 27, approximately 9.4 nm east of Karimun Besar Island, Indonesia in the eastbound lane of the TSS in the Singapore Strait.
While the tug boat towing barge was en route from Port Klang, Malaysia to Kuching, East Malaysia on 7 February, four small wooden boats approached the barge, which carried construction materials.
Eight perpetrators boarded the barge, stole about 20kg of steel construction material and escaped. The crew was not injured.
Incident outside Asia
In the morning of 10 February, the Singaporean-flagged Liquefied gas carrier BW Paris was underway on Arabian Sea, when three perpetrators in a skiff started pursuing the vessel.
The perpetrators were not armed and there was no boarding or fishing equipment sighted on board the skiff. The master activated the SSAS and adopted counter-piracy procedures.
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 to Counter Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia.
