The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has published its Monthly Piracy Report for the month of March 2026.
According to the IMO, six acts of piracy and armed robbery were attempted against ships during the month of March 2026 and reported by Member States or international organizations in consultative status.
The incidents include:
#1 In territorial waters
Ocean Radiance (Gas carrier – LPG, Palau)
The incident: Seven unauthorised persons armed with knives boarded the tanker underway and entered the engine room. Alarm raised, public address announcement made, crew mustered, and a search was conducted.
Response: Alarm raised, public address announcement made, crew mustered, and a search was conducted.
Location: Singapore Straits, Singapore 01° 02.30′ N 103° 40.20′ E
Darya Tiana (Bulk carrier, Hong Kong, China)
The incident: Duty crew onboard a bulk carrier underway identified one unauthorised person boarding via the starboard quarter. Alarm raised and crew mustered. Seeing the crew alertness, four unauthorised persons were seen escaping.
Response: Alarm raised, crew mustered, and a search was carried out.
Location: Singapore Straits, Singapore 01° 04.00′ N 103° 36.30′ E
Aristoteles Graecia (Bulk carrier, Cyprus)
The incident: Duty crew onboard the ship underway noticed four persons armed with knives in the engine room. Alarm raised and crew mustered. Seeing the crew alertness, the persons escaped with stolen ship’s engine spares and properties.
Response: Alarm raised, crew mustered, and a search was carried out.
Location: Singapore Straits, Singapore 01° 02.90′ N 103° 37.70′ E
Hellasship (Bulk carrier, Liberia)
The incident: While underway, four perpetrators armed with long knives were sighted in the steering gear room. The ship’s general alarm was activated and crew mustered. After conducting a search onboard, master confirmed there was no further sighting of the perpetrators and nothing was stolen. A crew member was slightly injured when running away from the perpetrators with a minor laceration to his head, and the agent arranged for shore medical follow up
Response: The ship’s general alarm was activated and crew mustered to conduct a search onboard. The incident was reported to Singapore VTIS.
Location: Approximately 5.7 nm off Pulau Cula (Indonesia), in the eastbound lane of the TSS Indonesia 01° 03.61′ N 103° 37.66′ E
Taz (Bulk carrier, Marshall Islands)
The incident: Five robbers in a small wooden boat approached and boarded the ship underway. They went into the engine room and held the duty oiler hostage, threatening him with a gun and a machete. They demanded to know the location of the engine workshop and took the oiler’s flashlight and phone. The robbers told the oiler to stay in the workshop while they searched for valuable items. When an engine alarm went off, the oiler ran to the Engine Control Room, locked himself in, and alerted the OOW.
Response: Alarm raised, public announcement made, VTIS informed, and a distress message broadcast
Location: Singapore Straits, Singapore 01° 02.70′ N 103° 38.59′ E
#2 In port area
ALS Vesta (Container ship, Singapore)
The incident: The duty crew on an anchored ship noticed three unauthorized individuals on board. They promptly informed the master. The master instructed more crew members to go to the deck to help. Upon noticing the crew’s vigilance, the individuals quickly jumped into the water and escaped. No theft was reported.
Response: The master instructed more crew members to go to the deck to help
Location: Manila anchorage, Philippines 14° 35.65′ N 120° 51.70′ E