Over the past week, one CAT 2, two CAT 3 and one CAT 4 incidents of armed robbery against ships in Asia between 15-21 October.
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), and one incident onboard a petroleum/chemical tanker while at anchor in Medan Anchorage, Indonesia.
Situation of abduction of crew in the Sulu-Celebes seas and waters off Eastern Sabah
Re-Assessment and Downgrading of threat level
The efforts by the Philippine Government in Zamboanga, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi through the conduct of continuous military operations led to the dismantling of the support base and neutralising the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the Sulu archipelago. Against this backdrop, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) coordinated with other stakeholders and counterparts that have vital involvement in the maritime security of the Sulu-Celebes Seas, reviewed the threat situation and recommended further downgrading the threat level of ‘Abduction of crew for ransom in the Sulu-Celebes Seas’ from ‘MODERATE’ to ‘MODERATE LOW’, which implies that ‘Incidents are unlikely to occur due to perpetrators’ perceived lack of capability to orchestrate an attack. Nevertheless, minimal damages are expected to the vessel and crew in case of an attack’.
Update
With the downgrading of the threat on the ‘Abduction of Crew for Ransom in the Sulu-Celebes Seas’ by the PCG, an advisory for ships to “exercise vigilance and adopt necessary preventive measures while transiting the area.”
For ships transiting the area, the ship masters and crew are strongly encouraged to exercise extra vigilance and report all incidents immediately to the Operation Centres of the Philippines and the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) of Malaysia.
To remind, on 18 October, the maritime community on the continued occurrence of incidents of sea robbery onboard ships while underway in the Singapore Strait and warned of a possibility of further incidents.