Three incidents of sea robbery were reported on ships while transiting the Phillip Channel, in the eastbound lane of the traffic separation scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait (SS) on July 1, within a time interval of three hours (between 0150 hrs and 0440 hrs), according to ReCAAP ISC.
The ReCAAP ISC, known as the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP), said the incidents occurred in close proximity with each other (between 1.4 nm to 3.5 nm apart). All three incidents occurred onboard bulk carriers.
The perpetrators were armed with gun-like objects in one incident and reportedly not armed in the other two incidents.
One ship reported loss of some engine spare parts, and nothing was stolen from the other two ships. The crew members were not injured in all three incidents.
With these three incidents, a total of 82 incidents were reported in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS), comprising one incident in Malacca Strait (MS) and 81 incidents in SS, since January 2025.
The ReCAAP ISC says that it is concerned with the increasing number of incidents in SOMS compared to the corresponding period in 2024 (1 January – 1 July), where 21 incidents (comprising one incident in MS and 20 incidents in SS), were reported.
ReCAAP ISC advises ships to intensify vigilance and maintain sharp look-out while transiting the areas of concern, particularly during hours of darkness, adopt preventive measures, including CCTV coverage at potential boarding places onboard as recommended in the Regional Guide 2 to Counter Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia, report all incidents immediately using the ReCAAP ISC Mobile App to the nearest coastal State and flag State, and identify the perpetrators’ boat when reporting referring to the ReCAAP ISC’s Guide Book on Identification of Fishing Boats in Asian Waters.
