ReCAAP Feb 2015 Report; Lowest Feb Incidents in 5 Years
ReCAAP ISC reports a total of 11 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia in February 2015. Amongst these, one was an incident of piracy and 10 were armed robberies against ships. No attempted incidents were reported in February 2015.
Compared to February of 2011-2014, the number of incidents reported in February 2015 is lowest among February of the five-year reporting period.
Of the 11 incidents reported in February 2015, two were Category 1 incidents, two were Category 3 incidents and seven were petty theft incidents. No Category 2 incidents were reported in February 2015.
Two-thirds of the total number of incidents reported in February 2015 were petty theft cases. However, of concern was the occurrence of two Category 1 incidents involving siphoning of ship fuel/oil from product tankers, Lapin on 13 Feb, and Phubai Pattra 1 on 20 Feb.
Location of Incidents
Of the 11 incidents reported in February 2015, five incidents occurred onboard ships while underway in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separati??on Scheme (TSS) in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS), one onboard ship while underway in the Malacca Strait; four onboard ships anchored at ports and anchorages in Vietnam and one onboard a ship anchored in the South China Sea.
Incident involving Lapin (13 Feb)
On 13 Feb, while underway to Krabi province, Thailand, unconfirmed number of between six to eight perpetrators armed with pistols and knives boarded the product tanker, Lapin, from a small boat. The perpetrators gathered the crew and took control of the tanker.
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Recovery of MT Rehobot (23 Feb)
On 23 Feb at about 2313 hrs, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) which is also the ReCAAP Focal Point (Philippines) reported to the ReCAAP ISC that MT Rehobot was found grounded in Barangay Cabuaya, Mati City, Davao Oriental, Philippines.
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Conclusion
The ReCAAP ISC is concerned about the occurrence of ship fuel/oil siphoning incidents in February 2015, and the use of dummy explosives by the perpetrators in the incident onboard Lapin, to threaten the crew and possibly, to delay the crew’s responsiveness in making timely reports of the incident. Increased presence of enforcement agencies in the region, and sharing of investigation outcome among the enforcement agencies is key to tracking down the perpetrators, and arrest them. The ReCAAP ISC is collaborating with INTERPOL in sharing information to update its database on information related to such incidents to establish linkages and connections.
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Source: ReCAAP ISC
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