The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) reports that, in a six hour period, November 8-9, three ships were the subjects of armed robberies while underway in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait. The incidents occurred in close proximity to each other. In all three incidents, there was no confrontation between the perpetrators and the crew.
Following are the details of the incidents
With these three latest incidents, a total of 31 incidents have been reported in the Singapore Strait this year. Of these, 27 incidents occurred in the eastbound lane of the TSS, one incident in the westbound lane of the TSS, two incidents in the precautionary area, and one incident just outside (south) of the TSS.
Masafumi Kuroki, Executive Director of ReCAAP Information Sharing Center, commented:
“Since January 2020, 31 incidents of armed robbery against ships have been reported in the Singapore Strait, of which 27 occurred in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme. In addition to asking the shipping community to exercise upmost vigilance, we also urge the littoral states concerned to take enforcement actions to apprehend the perpetrators–without which the spate of incidents is likely to continue. All incidents, however ‘moderate,’ should not be ignored because the lack of arrests can embolden criminals to escalate their crimes.”
