Piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia are on the rise as a total of 107 incidents from January to December 2024 were reported to ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC), which is 6% higher than the 101 incidents reported in 2023.
Of these 107 incidents, two were piracy incidents that occurred on the high seas, while 105 incidents were armed robbery against ships in internal waters, territorial seas, and archipelagic waters under coastal States jurisdiction, according to ReCAAP (ISC) 2024 annual report on piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia.
From the 107 incidents, 96 were actual while 11 were attempted incidents.
The ReCAAP ISC, known as the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP), said that in 2023 there were 100 actual incidents and one attempted incident.
The higher number of unsuccessful boarding attempts in 2024 is due to the heightened vigilance of ship crew when transiting in Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
ReCAAP ISC also reported a decrease in the number of incidents in ports and anchorages in India, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam compared to 2023. Higher number of incidents reported in Bangladesh and Indonesia ports and anchorages.
At the same time the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS) continues to be an area of concern, according to ReCAAP. About 58% of the incidents in Asia (62 out of 107 incidents) occurred in the SOMS.
In the majority (86%) of incidents which occurred in the SOMS, the crew was not injured. The incidents were mostly opportunistic, committed by perpetrators adopting a ‘hit-and-run’ approach. In most incidents, the criminals boarded ships that were ill-prepared with low freeboard, and manoeuvred at slow speeds in the restricted areas of the SOMS. The most commonly stolen items are ship stores, scrap metal and engine spares.
The majority of the incidents (89%) occurred to bigger ships, namely bulk carriers and tankers (55 incidents). The other 7 incidents occurred on tug boats towing barges (6 incidents) and a general cargo ship (1 incident).
Of the 62 incidents in the SOMS, 52 (84%) occurred during hours of darkness between 2300 to 0559 hrs. The other 10 incidents occurred during daylight hours.
ReCAAP ISC executive director, Krishnaswamy Natarajan, said: “ReCAAP ISC commends the proactive countermeasures taken by the law enforcement agencies over the past year, that resulted in more perpetrators being apprehended. The arrests made by the authorities send a strong message of deterrence to the would-be perpetrators.”
He added, “I would also like to commend the ship crew for enhanced vigilance, which led to more unsuccessful armed robbery attempts by perpetrators in 2024.”