Four incidents of armed robbery against ships in Asia were reported from 15-21 October to the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC).
The one incident is classified as “moderately significant”, the two incidents are classified as “less significant”, and the last is classified as “least significant”.
Three of the incidents occurred onboard bulk carriers while underway in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait (SS).
One incident occurred onboard a petroleum/chemical tanker while at anchor in Medan Anchorage, Indonesia.
Specifically, three incidents occurred onboard bulk carriers on October 18. The first incident occurred onboard a bulk carrier approximately 4.6 nm east of Pulau Karimun Kecil, in Indonesia with five men carrying knives, with no injuries and no items stolen.
The second incident occurred onboard a bulk carrier approximately 5.5 nm east of Pulau Karimun Kecil, in Indonesia with ten men carrying knives, with no injuries reported but engine spares were stolen.
The third incident occurred onboard a bulk carrier approximately 2.8 nm north of Pulau Cula, in Indonesia with one man, but no injuries reported. In this case no items were stolen.
The last incident occurred onboard a petroleum/chemical tanker on October 17 in Medan Anchorage, Indonesia with two men carrying machetes, with no injuries reported, but unsecured items were stolen.
With the three incidents in Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS) that occurred on the same day, within a short time interval and at close proximity to each other, the ReCAAP ISC issued an incident alert on October 18 to advise ships to intensify vigilance and maintain sharp look-out while transiting the areas of concern.
With these three incidents, a total of 39 incidents (38 incidents in Singapore Strait and one incident in Malacca Strait) were reported in SOMS since January 2024.
