In its weekly piracy report for 19-25 January, ReCAAP ISC informed of one incident of armed robbery against ship in Asia, involving the Barbados-flagged bulk carrier Ark Royal, while underway in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait.
The incident occurred on 25 January and is classified as a CAT 4 incident, where the perpetrators were not armed and the crew not harmed.
This is the first incident reported in 2021 in the Singapore Strait since the last incident occurred on 30 November 2020. No incident was reported in December 2020 in a region which has been a red zone for maritime security in 2020.
The incident
While the ship was underway approximately 7.1 nm north west of Tanjung Pergam, Pulau Bintan, Indonesia in eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme, five unauthorized persons were sighted in the engine room.
The alarm was raised and crew mustered. A search onboard the ship was conducted. At 0506 hrs, the master updated Singapore Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS) that the search onboard was completed with no further sighting of the unauthorized persons.
The master reported that nothing was stolen, and all crew was safe and accounted for. He added that no assistance was required, and the ship would continue its voyage.
As a result, a safety navigational broadcast was initiated. The Republic of Singapore Navy’s (RSN) Maritime Security Task Force (MSTF) and Singapore Police Coast Guard were notified. Information of the incident was shared with the Malaysian and Indonesian authorities.
