In its weekly report for 9 – 15 July, ReCAAP ISC informed of one CAT 4 (least significant) incident of armed robbery against ships in Asia, involving the barge ‘Sung Fatt 36’ in the Singapore Strait, Tuesday. Notably, this was the second time in 2019 that this vessel was targeted by perpetrators in this region.
The incident involved the theft of scrap metal from the barge ‘Sung Fatt 36’, towed by tug boat ‘Sung Fatt 31’, in the westbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) of the Singapore Strait.
In the early morning hours of Tuesday 16 July, the Malaysian-flagged tug and barge were carrying scrap metal bound for Penang, Malaysia.
While underway in the westbound lane of the TSS of the Singapore Strait, the master of tug boat reported to the Singapore Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS) that his crew spotted some perpetrators boarding the barge from an unknown number of sampans.
The perpetrators stolen some scrap metal and escaped via the sampans. There was no confrontation between the perpetrators and the crew.
This is the second time in 2019 that Sung Fatt 36 was boarded by perpetrators while underway in the westbound lane of the TSS of the Singapore Strait, according to ReCAAP ISC.
The first incident occurred on 5 March, when 11 perpetrators boarded Sung Fatt 36 also towed by Sung Fatt 31 and stole some scrap metal from the barge.
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.
In a special alert issued in April, ReCAAP ISC warned that four incidents of unauthorised boarding of ships were reported during January-April 2019, in locations of close proximity to each other, in the western sector of Singapore Strait.
From February to June alone, there have been six incidents in close proximity to each other in the region.
