ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre today issued its April 2020 Report on the situation of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia. A summary is appended.
Summary
A total of nine incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships were reported in Asia in April 2020
Of the nine incidents, one was a piracy incident and eight were incidents of armed robbery against ships
There was no report of abduction of crew in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah in April 2020
- However, the abduction of crew for ransom in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah remains a serious concern
ReCAAP ISC is also concerned about the continued occurrence of incidents on board ships while underway in the Singapore Strait
- With three incidents reported in April 2020, a total of 12 incidents have been reported in the Singapore Strait since January 2020
- Of the 12 incidents, 11 incidents occurred in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) and one incident in the precautionary area in the Singapore Strait
- ReCAAP ISC has issued an Incident Alert (IA/04/2020) on 30 Apr 20 on the three incidents which occurred during 16-30 Apr to ships while underway in the Singapore Strait
Number of Incidents
- In April 2020, nine incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships were reported
- All were actual incidents
- No attempted incident was reported
- All incidents have been verified and reported to ReCAAP ISC by ReCAAP Focal Points
- On a month-to-month comparison, the number of total incidents reported in April 2020 is lower than the monthly number of incidents in 2020, except for the preceding month of March 2020
