The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) has released its statistics on piracy and sea robbery in Asia for January-September this year.
Sixty-four incidents took place, with three incidents of piracy and 61 incidents of armed robbery against ships, which differs from piracy by taking place in territorial waters.
Of particular concern is the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah, offshore Malaysia, where there is a risk of crew being abducted for ransom. In the period covered by the statistics there were only two incidents – one actual and one attempted – which is a decrease from the seven incidents – three actual and four attempted – reported during the same period of 2017. In spite of the decrease in the number of incidents, ReCAAP still see an imminent threat of crew abduction in these areas and so advise vessels to re-route where possible and to be especially vigilant for the presence of suspicious vessels.
ReCAAP also noted increases from last year in incidents taking place on board ships at ports and anchorages in Chittagong, Bangladesh and offshore Samarinda in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, as well as on vessels under way in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
The full report is available on the ReCAAP website.
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