Piracy & Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia - ReCAAP May 2014
ACCORDING TO ReCAAP ISC, in May 2014, there were a total of 15 incidents reported. Although there has been an increase in the number of incidents reported in May 2014 compared to May 2013 and May 2012, almost two-thirds of the incidents were petty theft cases.
Of the 15 incidents reported in May 2014, six incidents occurred onboard ships while anchored at ports and anchorages in Bangladesh (1), Indonesia (4) and South China Sea (1); and nine incidents involved ships while underway in the South China Sea (4) and the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (5). Refer to appendix for detailed description of incidents.
Of the six incidents at ports and anchorages, one was a CAT 3 incident, three were petty thefts and two were attempted incidents.
A total of five petty thefts were reported in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS) in May 2014. Of these, three incidents occurred within 24 hours between 28 May 14 at 0625 hrs and 29 May at 0353 hrs, in proximity to each other onboard bulk carrier Ore Vitoria, barge Kien San 8 and bulk carrier Eastern Star. Although not substantiated with evidence at this juncture, it appeared that the same group(s) of robbers might be involved. Noting that nothing was stolen from the first vessel, Ore Vitoria, the robbers could have had lingered around to prey on the other vessels. On this note, the ReCAAP ISC raised an Incident Alert on 29 May warning mariners to exercise enhanced vigilance while in the vicinity.
The Full Report also provides a case study of the siphoning of fuel from Orapin 4 - See map (right; click to enlarge).
An incident involving the siphoning of fuel from Orapin 4 was reported on 28 May, the third case within a period of two months this year (April - May). The other two incidents occurred on 17 Apr onboard Sri Phangnga, and on 22 Apr onboard Naniwa Maru No.1. On 27 May at or about 1500 LT, a Thailand-registered product tanker, Orapin 4, departed Singapore for Pontianak, Indonesia with 3,975 metric tonnes of Automative Diesel Fuel (ADF) onboard. The vessel was scheduled to arrive in Pontianak on 29 May at or about 1300 LT. However, on 28 May at or about 1200 LT, the shipping company tried to contact Orapin 4 via email but did not receive a reply. The tanker did not arrive in Pontianak on 29 May as scheduled. The company last contacted the tanker on 27 May at or about 1730 hrs which was approximately 3.64 nm north of Pulau Batam, Indonesia. The last tracked position of Orapin 4 on 27 May at or about 2357 LT was approximately 19.47 nm north of Pulau Bintan, Indonesia.
The pirates repainted the ship name from ORAPIN 4 to RAPI, and destroyed the communication equipment onboard, and cut off all communications. The pirates tied the crew and proceeded to the bridge to control the tanker. Another tanker came alongside and approximately 3,700 metric tonnes of ADF was siphoned from Orapin 4.
There has been an overall improvement in the situation of armed robbery against ships at ports and anchorages in Indonesia and Vietnam. Although the overall number of incidents reported in May 2014 had increased compared to the same period in 2013 and 2012, two-thirds of the reported incidents were of least severity in nature and petty theft cases.
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