ReCAAP ISC holds Dialogue Session with Shipping Industry to discuss Sea Robbery in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore

The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) today held a dialogue with the shipping industry to discuss security concerns of vessels transiting the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS). The dialogue comes on the back of a 37% increase in incidents of armed robbery against ships in the SOMS from July to September 2023 compared to the same period last year. The ReCAAP ISC during the dialogue session, presented the situation of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia from Jan – Oct 2023.

A total of 91 incidents of armed robbery against ships in Asia were reported in this period, a 34% increase compared to 68 incidents in the same period last year. No piracy incidents (on high seas) were reported. All incidents were armed robbery against ships which occurred in internal waters, territorial seas and archipelagic waters, falling under coastal States’ jurisdiction. 62 out of the 91 incidents occurred in the SOMS.

This represents a 41% increase compared to 44 incidents in the SOMS from Jan – Oct 2022. To facilitate the timely reporting of sea robbery incidents by ship masters and quick response by the concerned authorities of coastal States, ReCAAP ISC launched a poster containing updated contact details of law enforcement agencies of the littoral States of the SOMS.

The poster also outlines preventive measures which ship masters should adopt before entering the SOMS, and actions to be taken in the event the ship is boarded by perpetrators. The poster is available on the ReCAAP ISC website at www.recaap.org The Centre also launched an interactive dashboard for viewing and analysing past and current incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia. The dashboard, titled as ReCAAP Data Visualisation Map and Panel (Re-VAMP), allows users to co-relate different data sets of incidents, and derive insights to make informed risk assessments, institute preventive measures, and plan a safe ship voyage. The dashboard is available on the ReCAAP ISC website at www.recaap.org .

This is the second dialogue session with the shipping industry organised by the ReCAAP ISC this year, during which the shipping industry discussed issues in implementing ship security measures and the need to engage the littoral States to reduce sea robbery incidents. Representatives from the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Singapore Police Coast Guard also shared efforts taken by the Singapore authorities to reduce armed robbery against ships in the SOMS.

ReCAAP ISC Executive Director, Mr Krishnaswamy Natarajan, said “ReCAAP ISC is particularly concerned with the rise in incidents in the SOMS in 2023. I would like to urge the shipping companies to report all incidents, even those which are low severity in nature, immediately to the RCC of the littoral State, whose contact details are provided in the poster, so that prompt response can be made by the authorities. At the same time, the law enforcement agencies of the littoral States need to increase patrols and enforcement in the areas of concern to deter the potential perpetrators.”
Source: ReCAAP ISC