ReCAAP ISC issued its weekly report for 29 June – 5 July, reporting three incidents of armed robbery against ships in Asia. Of these, two incidents occurred to ships while anchored at Jakarta Anchorage, Indonesia and Manila Quarantine Anchorage, the Philippines.
As informed, in both incidents, the perpetrators escaped upon being sighted and the crew was not harmed. Nothing was stolen in the incident at Jakarta Anchorage, while one breathing apparatus was stolen in the incident at Manila Quarantine Anchorage.
The third incident occurred to a ship while underway in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait (SS).
The ReCAAP ISC is concerned with the continued occurrence of incidents in the SS, particularly off Tanjung Pergam, and issued an Incident Alert (IA 04/2021) on 30 Jun 21. Of the 20 incidents reported in the SS during January-June 2021, 16 incidents occurred off Tanjung Pergam.
Incident #1
Namely, the first incident involved the “J Mare” bulk carrier. While underway, four unauthorised persons were sighted in the engine room. The perpetrators escaped in a small boat upon being sighted. The ship’s alarm was raised and crew mustered. A search on board was conducted.
At 0112 hrs, the master updated Singapore VTIS that the search was completed with no further sighting of the perpetrators on board. The master reported that nothing was stolen; and all crew was safe and accounted for. The master declared that no assistance was required and the ship continued with its voyage for Ruizhou, China.
A safety navigational broadcast was initiated. The RSN’s MSTF and Singapore Police Coast Guard were informed, and the Malaysian and Indonesian authorities were notified.
Incident #2
The second incident involved the “MV Nordtiger” container ship. While at anchor, the 2nd Officer noticed two unidentified persons in the Bosun’s store and alerted all crew onboard.
Upon realising the crew had been alerted, the two perpetrators jumped overboard immediately and escaped in a motorized banca. The duty officer directed the crew to conduct an initialassessment of missing items. One breathing apparatus was found stolen. The crew was not injured.
The Philippine Coast Guard conducted operation and information gathering in the nearby areas for possible interdiction of perpetrators.
Incident #3
The third incident involved the “Baltic North” container ship. While at anchor, two unauthorised persons were sighted at the poop deck by a duty AB during anchoring operation. The ship’s alarm was raised and the perpetrators escaped in a waiting small boat, with another four persons onboard.
The incident was reported to the Coast Guard who boarded the ship for investigation. Nothing was reported stolen.
