ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre today issued its April 2020 Report on the situation of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia. A summary is appended.  

Summary

A total of nine incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships were reported in Asia in April 2020

Of the nine incidents, one was a piracy incident and eight were incidents of armed robbery against ships

There was no report of abduction of crew in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah in April 2020

  • However, the abduction of crew for ransom in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah remains a serious concern

 ReCAAP ISC is also concerned about the continued occurrence of incidents on board ships while underway in the Singapore Strait

  • With three incidents reported in April 2020, a total of 12 incidents have been reported in the Singapore Strait since January 2020
  • Of the 12 incidents, 11 incidents occurred in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) and one incident in the precautionary area in the Singapore Strait
  • ReCAAP ISC has issued an Incident Alert (IA/04/2020) on 30 Apr 20 on the three incidents which occurred during 16-30 Apr to ships while underway in the Singapore Strait

Number of Incidents

  • In April 2020, nine incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships were reported
  • All were actual incidents
  • No attempted incident was reported
  • All incidents have been verified and reported to ReCAAP ISC by ReCAAP Focal Points
  • On a month-to-month comparison, the number of total incidents reported in April 2020 is lower than the monthly number of incidents in 2020, except for the preceding month of March 2020