ReCAPP: Piracy, Armed Robbery in Asian Waters Down for Third Straight Month

The ReCAPP report shows that, during the month of November, there were no reported incidents tanker hijackings for bunker theft.

The latest ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ReCAPP) report shows that there was a decline in reported incidents of armed robbery or piracy in Asian waters during the month of November, marking the third straight month of a continued slowdown in such attacks.

The ReCAPP report says that, during the month of November, no piracy incidents were reported, nor were there any reported incidents of tanker hijackings for the purpose of cargo oil theft.

There was a total of seven reported armed robbery incidents, including one attempted, against ships during the month of November, compared to a total of 15 such incidents during October.

Of those seven incidents, three are said to have occurred in Indonesia, three in Vietnam, while the one attempted incident is reported to have occurred in the in the westbound lane of Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS).

"Notably, for the first time in 2015, there was no report of incident reported on board ship while underway in the eastbound lane of the TSS of SOMS in November 2015," added the report.

Overall, there is said to have been a 53 percent decrease in number of reported incidents during November compared to the previous month.

Although November's numbers were down, the ReCAPP report urged continued vigilance and work toward improved surveillance and enforcement.

"More needs to be done at certain ports and anchorages where the port authorities and enforcement agencies need to enhance their surveillance; and ship masters and crew to maintain stringent watch-keeping while their ships were anchored there."

"Whilst the numbers had declined, consolidated efforts to address regional situation with regional stakeholders are underway."

Including 170 actual incidents and 13 attempted, a total of 183 incidents have been reported from January to November of this year, a figure that is equal to 98 percent of the total number of incidents reported during the 2014 year.

In November, the ReCAAP report showed piracy and armed robbery in Asian waters was down in October, but noted that 2015 was still on course to hit a five year high.