In its weekly report for 22-28 June, ReCAAP ISC informed of three incidents of armed robbery against ships in Asia. Of these, two incidents occurred to ships while underway in the Singapore Strait, and one to a ship while anchored at Manila Quarantine Anchorage, Philippines. The two incidents in the Singapore Strait occurred off Tanjung Pergam, Bintan Island, Indonesia on 26 June within an interval of nine minutes.
In one of the incidents, one perpetrator armed with knife was sighted at the steering gear flat of the ship. The perpetrator escaped upon being sighted. Nothing was stolen. In the other incident, four perpetrators were sighted in the engine room of the ship. Some engine spares were stolen.
With the latest two incidents, a total of 19 incidents had occurred in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait since January 2021.
Incident #1
The first incident involved the Hong Kong-flagged container ship ‘Mount Butler’, while anchored in Manila Quarantine Anchorage, Philippines.
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While at anchor in the early morning hours of 22 June, an unknown number of perpetrators boarded the ship. The master and crew raised the general emergency alarm and carried out a search operation onboard the ship. The crew was safe and some ship stores were stolen.
Incident #2
The second incident involved the Panama-flagged bulk carrier ‘Busan Star’, while approximately 6.2 nm north west of Tanjung Pergam, Bintan Island, Indonesia in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS).
While underway shortly after midnight on 26 June, one unauthorized person armed with a knife was sighted at the steering gear flat of the ship. The perpetrator escaped upon being sighted. There was no confrontation with the crew. The alarm was raised and crew mustered. The master reported the incident to Singapore Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS) via VHF. A search onboard the ship was conducted.
At 0109 hrs, the master updated Singapore VTIS that the search was completed with no further sighting of the perpetrator. The crew was not injured, and nothing was stolen. The master declared no assistance was required and the ship continued her voyage for Ko Siichang, Thailand.
A safety navigational broadcast was initiated. The Republic of Singapore Navy’s (RSN) Maritime Security Task Force (MSTF) and Singapore Police Coast Guard (PCG) were informed, and the Malaysian and Indonesian authorities were notified.
Incident #3
The third incident involved the Panama-flagged bulk carrier ‘Sakizaya Champion’, while approximately 6.7 nm north west of Tanjung Pergam, Bintan Island, Indonesia in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS).
While underway shortly after midnight on 26 June, four unauthorized persons were sighted in the engine room. The perpetrators escaped upon being sighted. The alarm was raised and crew mustered. A search on board the ship was conducted, with no further sighting of the perpetrators. The master reported that some engine spares were stolen, and the crew was accounted for. The ship continued with its voyage for Vietnam.
A safety navigational broadcast was initiated. The RSN’s MSTF and Singapore Police Coast Guard were notified. Information of the incident was shared with the Malaysian and Indonesian authorities.
