The Regional Co-operation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) has raised concerns over the spike on vessels attack with 11 incidents of sea robbery in the one of the world’s busiest waterways “Singapore Strait in just over a month.
ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) further warned that there could be further vessel boardings in the months ahead
In an incident alert ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) highlighted that between 1 January and 3 February this year there had been 11 incident of sea robbery onboard ships while underway in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) of the Singapore Strait.
Of the 11 incidents six occurred between 26 January and 3 February, there were two incidents each in the early morning on 26 January and 3 February, while there were a further two incidents during the night of 28 – 29 January.
According to ReCAAP all 11 incidents took place in close proximity to each other off Pulau Cula and Helen Mar Reef, in the Phillips Channel and in seven cases engine spares were stolen seven of the incidents. The robbers carried guns, or what appeared to guns, in four of the incidents and carried knives in five of the boardings. No crew members were reported injured.
Commenting on the recent number of sea robberies Thomas Timlen, Analyst at Risk Intelligence’s Singapore office, told Seatrade Maritime News that their analysis showed while month-to-month totals of incidents in the Singapore Strait vary widely the year-on-year trends are less volatile.
“This is not the first time we have seen this level of boardings within a roughly one-month period. For example, there were eleven reported boardings of vessels transiting the Singapore Strait both in July 2023 and November 2024. While these amounts reflect the highs, the lows amounted to two incidents reported in May 2024 and one incident in both September and December 2023. This illustrates the volatility of month-to-month incident figures,” Timlen explained.
In both 2023 and 2024 the average number of incidents in the Singapore Strait per month was 5.5.
“In the absence of significant changes to the maritime security and economic dynamics in the area, for example, if the present law enforcement measures are maintained alongside similar employment levels, we expect that vessel boardings during 2025 will closely match the trends seen in previous years,” he said.
Meanwhile ReCAAP urged for more patrols and enforcement from the coastal states. “The Centre urges the littoral States to increase patrols/surveillance in their respective waters, respond promptly to incidents reported by ships, strengthen coordination and promote information sharing on incidents and criminal groups involved to arrest the perpetrators.”
Ships were advised to intensify vigilance and maintain sharp look-out while transiting the areas of concern, particularly during hours of darkness.
