ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre released the February 2020 Report on the situation of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia.
§ A total of 10 incidents of armed robbery against ships were reported in Asia in February 2020
§ There was no report of abduction of crew in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah
§ However, the abduction of crew for ransom in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah remains a serious concern
§ ReCAAP ISC is also concerned about the continued occurrence of incidents on board ships while underway in the Singapore Strait
§ With four incidents reported in February 2020, a total of eight incidents have been reported in the Singapore Strait since January 2020, all in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS)
§ ReCAAP ISC has issued an Incident Alert (IA/03/2020) on 9 Feb 20 on two incidents which occurred within an interval of an hour to ships while underway in the Singapore Strait
§ With one incident reported in January 2020, a total of five incidents have been reported in India during January-February 2020 compared to five incidents reported in the whole year of 2019
Number of Incidents
§ In February 2020, 10 incidents of armed robbery against ships were reported
§ All were actual incidents
§ All incidents have been verified and reported to the ReCAAP ISC by ReCAAP Focal Points
§ Graph 1 shows the number of incidents reported each month from February 2019 to February 2020
§ On a month-to-month comparison, the numbers of actual incidents in January and February 2020 were at a higher level compared to the monthly number of actual incidents in 2019.
Status of Ships
§ Of the 10 incidents reported in February 2020, four incidents occurred on board ships when at anchor, and six incidents on board ships while underway
Significance Level of Incidents
§ Of the 10 actual incidents reported in February 2020, three were CAT 3 incidents and seven were CAT 4 incidents
§ No CAT 1 or CAT 2 incident was reported in February 2020
§ Of the three CAT 3 incidents
o One incident occurred on board a tug boat anchored at Martabari Anchorage, Bangladesh
o One incident occurred on board an offshore supply ship anchored at Kakinada Anchorage, India
o One incident occurred on board a bulk carrier while underway in the Singapore Strait
§ In all three incidents, the perpetrators were armed with knives, and they escaped immediately when they were sighted by the crew
§ The crew was not injured in all three incidents
§ Of the seven CAT 4 incidents
o Three were reported in the Singapore Strait of which one occurred on board a barge towed by tug boat and two occurred on board bigger ships (bulk carrier and tanker)
o Three incidents occurred on board ships in India (tanker and offshore supply ship at Kakinada Anchorage and oil/ chemical/gas tanker underway off Gujarat)
o One incident on board a barge towed by tug boat underway in the Kutubdia Channel, Bangladesh
Source: ReCAAP
The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Xinde Marine News.
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