Piracy & Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia - ReCAAP ISC November 2015 Report
IN its November report on Piracy and Armed Robbery against ships in Asia, ReCAAP ISC states a third month consecutive decrease in incidents but also a 53% decrease on the number of incidents listed in October 2015.
There has been an improvement in the situation of piracy and armed robbery against ship in Asia in November 2015 for a consecutive three-month period since September 2015. Graph 1, below, shows the number of incidents reported monthly from November 2014 to November 2015. Compared to October 2015, there has been a 53% decrease in number of incidents reported in November 2015. A total of seven incidents of armed robbery against ships were reported in November 2015 compared to 15 incidents in October 2015. Of the seven incidents reported in November 2015, six were actual incidents and one was an attempted incident. No piracy incident was reported.
Significance Level of Incidents
Of the six actual incidents reported in November 2015, three were Category 3 (1-6 perpetrators boarding, possibly armed) incidents and three were Category 4 incidents (1 - 3 perpetrators boarding, unarmed, escaped empty-handed). No incident involving hijacking of tankers for theft of cargo oil (which were mainly Category 1 incidents - hijack or cargo theft by armed perpetrators, violence) was reported in November 2015. Compared to the same period of 2011-2014, overall there has been an improvement in the situation during November 2015, with no reports of Category 1 and Category 2 incidents (perpetrators likely armed, crew threatened/held hostage temporarily, theft of crew and/or ship property).
No Tanker Hijacking
No incident involving the of oil cargo had been reported in November 2015. In 2014, against a backdrop of increasing number of such incidents, the ReCAAP ISC had been sharing with the shipping industry best practices and lessons learned through case studies. The promulgation of the guide was mooted, following calls from the industry concerned who requested for a guide to address preventive measures and mi gate risks. A collection of experiences, best practices and lessons learned was compiled and put together in a guide entitled ‘Guide for tankers operating in Asia against piracy and armed robbery involving oil cargo theft’. Produced by the ReCAAP ISC jointly with the Information Fusion Centre (IFC) and the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), the guide was launched on 25 Nov 15.
A regional maritime guide on piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia, regardless of ship type or cargo carried, is currently being worked on by the ReCAAP ISC, IFC, INTERTANKO, RSIS and Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF).
Conclusion
The situation of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia had improved in November 2015, with a 53% decrease in total number of incidents compared to October 2015. Coupled with the decrease was also a reduction in the severity level of incidents. No incident involving hijacking of tankers for theft of oil cargo had been reported in November 2015 for a consecutive period of three months since September 2015. Notably, for the first time in 2015, there was no report of incident reported on board ship while underway in the eastbound lane of the TSS of SOMS in November 2015.
Download the Full Report HERE
Source: ReCAAP ISC
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