Britannia Club has warned of an increase in sea robberies and the boarding of vessels underway in the Singapore Straits.
As Britannia explained, various agencies have issued alerts to seafarers recommending increased vigilance and the maintenance of a heightened lookout while transiting the Singapore Straits.
Members are warned to be especially vigilant when in the area
A recent report by Dryad Global provided an insight on piracy incidents around the world. Regarding Southeast Asia, a total of 77 incidents were recorded in 2021. This compares to 65 in 2020. Clear disparities at the sub-region level can be observed amongst the incident data. Decreases in incidents were seen in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and the Sulu-Celebes Seas.
Whereas there was a strong increase in incidents recorded in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS), which remains the hotspot for maritime crime in Southeast Asia. All of the incidents in Southeast Asia in 2021 were attacks, boardings, or attempts. No incidents of piracy or kidnapping were reported.
A total of 49 incidents were reported in the SOMS (46 in the Singapore Strait and 3 in the Malacca Strait) in 2021 compared to 34 incidents in 2020 (26 in the Singapore Strait and 8 in the Malacca Strait).
The numbers reported in the SOMS equate to more than half of all incidents across Southeast Asia. Within the SOMS, 43 incidents occurred in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), three in the westbound lane of the TSS, and three in the precautionary area. Within this there has been a growing clustering of incidents off Indonesia’s Bintan and Batam islands, where 38 incidents were reported between them.
