A ship’s master has been hospitalised after being attacked during a sea robbery in the Strait of Malacca early on Friday.
Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) confirmed the incident in a statement on Friday, but few details were made public.
“The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) operated by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was notified this morning at about 4:30am of an alleged case of sea robbery onboard a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier, in the Strait of Malacca, outside Singapore’s territorial waters,” the MPA said on Friday.
The vessel was enroute to Singapore.
MRCC reportedly directed the vessel to anchor off the western part of Singapore to facilitate a search by the Police Coast Guard.
“The search has been completed onboard and nothing was reported missing,” the MPA said.
“The shipmaster who was hurt in the incident is reported to be in stable condition and has been conveyed ashore to seek medical treatment.”
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has raised concern on the rise in reported incidents in the Gulf of Guinea and for the Singapore Straits, in its latest report for the period of January-September 2023.
Ninety-nine incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships were reported in the first nine months of 2023, an increase from 90 incidents for the same period in 2022.
The Singapore Straits continues to raise concerns with 33 reported incidents in the first nine months of 2023 compared to 31 in the same period last year. Overall, 31 vessels were boarded with five crew taken hostage and two threatened with 25% of incidents reported in July. In most cases, ship stores or properties were reported stolen.
Considering the navigational challenges of the Singapore Straits, even low-level opportunistic incidents, could potentially increase the risk to safe navigation in these congested waters.
IMB also expresses concern over the risks of late or under reporting of these incidents and commends local authorities for investigating nearly all reported incidents.
