ASIA – The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) has reported six pirate attacks in two days while underway in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. The first half of the year has already seen an 18% increase in the number of incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia during January-June 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, with the Straits of Malacca and Singapore in particular seeing the most significant jump in incidents.
On August 21 and 22, six vessels reported to the Singapore Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS) via VHF about five unauthorised boarding’s and another attempted one. The Singapore Port Operation Control Centre (POCC) immediately notified the authorities of the littoral States and initiated navigational broadcast to warn mariners to maintain anti-piracy watch. The incidents are as follows:
21 August 2015
Considering the close interval of time and proximity of these incidents, ReCAAP says that the perpetrators could possibly be from the same group and from the description of the incidents, the perpetrators operated in teams of about 4-5 persons, armed with knives and were opportunistic in nature without targeting specific vessels. They aborted boarding when crew was alerted, and escaped empty-handed when the alarm was raised without harming the crew. Of concern was their persistence in ‘hovering’ in the vicinity seeking out their next target.
The ReCAAP ISC commends the masters of the six vessels for reporting to the Singapore VTIS who issued the navigational broadcast to mariners, and notified the enforcement agencies. However, it requires a collective effort by all stakeholders at sea and on land to do their part towards eradicating such incidents. This should include the timely deployment of patrol vessels by the relevant littoral states and a general increase in surveillance in the vicinity. From the incidents, enhanced vigilance, early detection of suspicious perpetrators and activation of the alarm immediately are key actions towards preventing boarding.
The fear is of course is that, as we saw with Somalia, as time passes the pirate gangs get both more organised and more ruthless. The time, effort and expense of generally eradicating that particular scourge would have been inconceivable previously. A total of 59 incidents were reported in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore during the January-June 2015period, comprising 55 actual incidents and four attempted incidents, a 150% uplift in attacks compared to the same period in 2014 to 59 incidents.
About 85% of these incidents occurred while ships were underway in the eastbound lane of the TSS. ReCaap has noted this surge in these kinds of opportunistic attacks and strongly recommends all vessels operating in the area to exercise enhanced vigilance and take extra precautionary measures while underway, and the relevant enforcement agencies to step up surveillance and patrols particularly during hours of darkness between 2130 hrs and 0530 hrs.
Claim your free directory listing and view our advertising rates >