Piracy & Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia - ReCAAP August 2015 Report
A TOTAL of 24 incidents of armed robbery against ships were reported in Asia in August 2015. Of these, 22 were actual incidents and two were attempted incidents. No piracy incident was reported in August 2015, states ReCAAP, the regional watchdog for piracy and robbery at sea in the region.
The number of incidents rebounds in August 2015 after a decline of 54% from 24 incidents in June 2015 to 11 in July 2015. Graph 1 of the report shows the monthly number of incidents reported from August 2014 till August 2015.
Overall, a total of 141 incidents had been reported over the past eight months (January-August 2015); and this accounted for an increase of 18% compared to the same period in 2014. Graph 2 shows the number of incidents reported during January-August in the past four years (2011-2014).
Of the 24 incidents reported in August 2015, less than half were Category 1, 2 and 3 incidents. One was a Category 1 incident involving the siphoning of ship fuel oil from bunker tanker Joaquim in the Malacca Strait. Compared to the same period in 2014, the number of Category 2 incidents remained fairly consistent, however, there has been a surge in number of Category 3 and other incidents, namely unauthorised boarding incidents where there were no direct encounter with the crew or economic loss. Refer to Chart 1 (below) the significance level of incidents reported during August of 2011 – 2015.
The Category 1 incident of siphoning of ship fuel oil involved Joaquim carrying 3,500 metric tons of fuel oil was boarded on 9 Aug 15. When she was found by MMEA, estimated 3,000 metric tons of fuel oil had been siphoned. The crew was safe except for the master and bunker crew who were punched in the face by the perpetrators.
Arrest of Alleged Mastermind of Orkim Harmony Hijack
The Indonesian authorities reported that they had arrested the alleged mastermind behind the hijacking of tanker Orkim Harmony on 27 Aug 15 in west Jakarta. Orkim Harmony was boarded on 11 Jun 15 by 13 perpetrators with possibly the intention to siphon the ULG 95 (petrol) carried on board the tanker. Through timely reporting by the owner and information sharing among the authorities, the Malaysia-registered product tanker was found on 19 Jun 15. This incident demonstrated the close cooperation and timely sharing of information among the regional authorities including the Australian patrol aircraft who localised the tanker, the MMEA who rescued the crew, the Vietnam Coast Guard (who is also the ReCAAP Focal Point for Vietnam) who arrested the eight perpetrators, and the Indonesian authorities who recovered a tug boat, Meulaboh believed to be used by the perpetrators, and arrested four other perpetrators and the alleged mastermind behind the hijacking.
Location and Description of Incidents Reported
Of the 24 incidents reported in August 2015, 21 of them occurred in Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS) along the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), one in Batangas Port, Philippines, one in Vung Tau anchorage, Vietnam and one in Kuala Tanjung Centre Jetty, Indonesia. Refer map 2 on the location of these incidents; and Appendix for their detailed description.
Conclusion
The number of incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia for the period January-August 2015 has increased by 18% compared to the same period in 2014. As for the number of siphoning incident reported in August 2015, it remained fairly consistent compared to the same period in 2014. The bulk of the overall increase in number in August 2015 was due to incidents occurred on board ships while underway in the SOMS.
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Original source: ReCAAP ISC
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