In light of recent attacks, the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information Sharing Center advises ships to exercise precaution, and law enforcement in the Signapore Strait to step up surveillance, increase patrols and enhance cooperation and coordination in order to respond promptly to incidents.
On December 23, two incidents were reported in the eastbound lane of the Singapore Strait on the same day. Of the two ships that were boarded, one was a bulk carrier and one was a tanker. In both incidents, the crew was tied up by the perpetrators. The perpetrators escaped empty-handed after the crew activated the ship alarm.
Due to the close proximity and short time interval between the two incidents (less than two hours), the possibility that the same group of perpetrators was responsible cannot be ruled out.
With the two incidents that occurred on 23 December 2019, a total of 29 incidents have been reported in the Singapore Strait in 2019. Of these, 15 occurred to ships while underway in the westbound lane of the Singapore Strait and 14 incidents in the eastbound lane of the Strait.
