During the period 21-27 Jun 22, one CAT 31 incident of armed robbery against ships in Asia.
The incident occurred on 23 Jun 22, on board a bulk carrier while underway at approximately 5.7 nm northwest of Tanjung Pergam, Bintan Island (Indonesia), in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait.
In the incident, the ship’s crew sighted an unauthorised person with a weapon-like object in the engine room. The ship alarm was raised and crew mustered. The master diverted ship back to Singapore and requested for a security search on board by the Singapore Police Coast Guard.
The security search was conducted with no further sighting of the perpetrators. Nothing was stolen. All crew members were safe with no report of injuries.
With this incident, a total of 27 incidents were reported in the Singapore Strait since January 2022 so far.
Recommendation
The ship master and crew to report all incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships to the nearest coastal State and flag State, exercise vigilance and adopt relevant preventive measures taking reference from the Regional Guide 2 to Counter Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia.