During the period 5 – 11 July 22, one CAT 3 incident of armed robbery against ships in Asia was reported to the ReCAAP ISC.
The incident occurred to a ship while underway in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), north of Tanjung Pergam, (Indonesia) in the Singapore Strait (SS) on 8 July 22.
In the incident, five unauthorised personnel armed with machetes were sighted in the steering gear room. The master raised the alarm, mustered the crew and conducted a search on board the ship.
There was no further sighting of the perpetrators. The master reported the incident to Singapore’s Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS). The crew members were safe, and nothing was stolen.
With this incident, a total of 29 incidents (comprising 28 actual and one attempted incident) were reported in the SS since January 2022.
Recommendation
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 2 to Counter Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia.
