During 15-21 May, two incidents of armed robbery against ships were reported to the ReCAAP ISC, one at Panjang Anchorage, Indonesia, and another off Southern Johor, Malaysia.
The first involves the product tanker ‘Kirana Tritya’ while anchored at Panjang Anchorage, in 29 April. The Officer-onWatch (OOW) observed a fishing boat that was proceeding close to the ship. He informed the Security Watch, who then spotted three perpetrators at the starboard quarter of the ship. The alarm was raised and upon hearing the alarm, the three perpetrators jumped overboard. The crew was not injured and nothing was stolen.
The second involves the tug boat ‘Budget 19’ that was towing the barge ‘Budget 29’, approximately 4.65 nm southeast of Tanjung Piai, Southern Johor, Malaysia, in the westbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme of the Singapore Strait, in 19 May. While the tug boat was underway, a few small craft were seen alongside the unmanned barge. Some scrap metal was found stolen from the barge, but the crew was not injured.
Indonesia has seen an increased activity of attacks against ships over the last months, with most cases concerning armed robberies while at anchor. In its piracy report for the first quarter of 2018, IMB highlighted that Indonesia recorded nine low level attacks against anchored vessels.
In addition, only in May, ReCAAP ISC has informed of three separate incidents involving attacks at Indonesian Samarinda Anchorage, Muara Berau, East Kalimantan.
Despite this, in its recent quarterly report, ReCAAP ISC noted an overall significant drop in piracy and armed robbery incidents against ships in Asia, with a total 14 incidents in January-March period, compared to 27 incidents that were reported during the same period in 2017.
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.
