At the industry dialogue organized by ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) on July 5, Krishnaswamy Natarajan, executive director, shared its 2024 mid-year report with key stakeholders the latest situation of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia. Notably, the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS) is still an unstable and hazardous place. 

In an interview with Maritime Fairtrade, Natarajan explained what the report findings mean for the maritime industry and how to navigate these realities. 

Krishnaswamy Natarajan, executive director, ReCAAP ISC. 

2024 saw the most attempts thwarted (seven), coming off 2023 where the highest incidents were reported (61). What could be the reasons for the decrease? 

Attempted incidents are incidents where perpetrators tried to board the ships, but failed to do so.  The high number of attempted incidents means that there were more unsuccessful boarding and this can be attributed to the good efforts of the shipmaster, crew and enforcement agencies. 

Proactive measures and vigilance of the master and crew in preventing boarding include raising alarm on sighting suspicious boats, sounding ship horn, and performing evasive maneuvers. The perpetrators also abort boarding ships upon spotting the patrol boat of the enforcement agencies in the vicinity.  

Although the number of Cat 2 and Cat 3 incidents from January to June 2024 decreased from 2023 during the same period, the violent and aggressive nature of the attacks has exacerbated (more perpetrators carrying deadly weapons, tying up crew, making threats). What should the industry note about these statistics? 

Categories 1 to 4 are determined by the violence factor (number of perpetrators, treatment of crew, types of weapons used) and economic factor (value, type of the property taken from the ship), decreasing in severity as the categories go down. 

Cat 2 incidents involved four to 9 men likely armed with knives, machetes, or guns. The crew is likely to be threatened or held hostage temporarily to allow the perpetrators to steal the crew’s cash and ship’s property. In a few cases, the crew suffered some form of injury or physical violence. 

Cat 3 incidents saw one to six perpetrators involved. These men may be armed with knives, machetes or other items such as sticks, rods and bats. The crew was not harmed, although there were cases of crew subject to duress during the incident but not harmed physically. In almost half of the CAT 3 incidents, the perpetrators were unable to steal anything from the vessel, but in cases where losses were reported, stores and engine spares were the commonly targeted items. 

There were eight CAT 2 and sixteen CAT 3 incidents from January to June 2024, marginally higher than the three CAT 2 and seventeen CAT 3 incidents reported in the first half of 2023. In 2024, perpetrators were reported to be carrying weapons like knives, machetes and rods.  The weapons were used to threaten the crew into compliance, and not to injure the crew physically.  In one incident, a crew member suffered minor injury when he was struck on the forehead by the perpetrator.

The shipping industry, especially the crew of slow-moving vessels with low freeboard, need to stay vigilant and maintain lookout when the ship is underway in narrow or congested waterways. This should also be observed while at anchor and berthed at ports.  The shipmaster and crew are strongly advised not to confront or antagonize the perpetrators, particularly when they carry weapons.

Why is the SOMS such a hotspot for piracy and armed robbery attacks?

The SOMS, which connects Europe and Asia, is one of the busiest trade routes in the world used by international shipping.  More than 1,000 ships pass through the narrow channel of Singapore Strait each day.  As such, there is never a shortage of targets for boarding by perpetrators. 

Location-wise, the narrow and congested crossing of ships near the Philip Channel is a vulnerable spot for boarding by perpetrators to commit robbery. The hit-and–run modus operandi poses a low-risk of being arrested by the authorities. Thus, this “motivates” criminals to board ships, knowing that they can escape after stealing items from ships or when detected by the crew.

Based on the data collected by ReCAAP ISC, there are a few areas in the SOMS where sea robbery incidents are more likely to occur. They include the waters off Pulau Cula (Indonesia), Tanjung Tondong, Bintan Island (Indonesia), and Pulau Karimun Kecil (Indonesia). We advise shipmasters and crew to stay vigilant and keep active watch when transiting these areas.

What are the profile and tactics of the criminals?

The incidents in Asia are mostly opportunistic theft and robberies committed during hours of darkness. The perpetrators’ main objective is to steal items from ships and escape without being noticed or caught by the crew.  Based on reports submitted to the ReCAAP ISC, we have observed that: 

• Incidents in the SOMS generally involve groups of one to six perpetrators, who mostly board large ships – bulk carriers – during hours of darkness between midnight and 5 am.
• Container ships are often targeted in ports and anchorages in Bangladesh and Philippines.
• Perpetrators were armed with knives or other weapons (e.g., metal rods, gun-like objects) in over half the cases. The weapons were mostly used to intimidate and not to inflict injury on crew.
• The items commonly stolen are engine spares, scrap metal and ship stores (paint, brass fire hydrant nozzles, fire hoses and mooring ropes).

How to stay one step ahead of piracy and armed attacks?

The shipping industry needs to exercise self-help to prevent unauthorized boarding. Prevention is better than cure. Prior to setting off a voyage, shipping companies and shipmasters can consider the following measures.

• Use ReCAAP ISC’s interactive dashboard, Re-VAMP, to identify areas of concern and vulnerable time windows when transiting the area.
• Keep abreast of the latest situation of piracy and armed robbery against ships, advisories and navigational broadcasts while transiting, and at the port of call or anchorages. 
• Adopt preventive measures as stated in ReCAAP ISC’s Regional Guide 2
• Install CCTV systems with an array of cameras monitoring critical areas of the ship to detect response and record any illegal boarding.  
• Consider engaging port-approved security personnel via the local shipping agent when the ship is at anchor or port.
• Stay vigilant and maintain lookout, and do not allow suspicious boats to come near the vessel.

All photos credit: ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre.

Top photo: Dialogue session July 5.