Another tanker boarded by pirates in Singapore Strait
In the wee hours on Wednesday, a group of pirates boarded a tanker in the Singapore Strait.
The attack, which happened between Singapore and Karimun Besar, Indonesia, is the sixth in the past week in the eastbound lane of the strait.
The six pirates, who did not appear to be armed, were spotted in the engine room of the Stena Immortal, a chemical and oil products tanker sailing under the British flag.
The pirates escaped empty-handed in a small unidentified boat after the alarm was raised at about 12.30am on Wednesday.
In an alert, the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia's Information Sharing Centre (ReCAAP ISC) said it was seriously concerned with the rise of incidents in the strait.
The ReCAAP ISC was established here in 2006 as an information-sharing network between 20 nations to promote and enhance cooperation against piracy and armed robbery on ships in Asia.
The most recent incident brings the total number of attacks there to 30 this year.
It said: "Since the perpetrators of these incidents are not arrested, there is a possibility of further incidents in the Singapore Strait.
"All ships are strongly advised to exercise utmost vigilance, adopt extra precautionary measures and report all incidents immediately to the nearest coastal State."
The ReCAAP ISC also urged the relevant law enforcement agencies to step up surveillance, increase patrols and enhance co-operation.
Five other attacks were reported from Dec 20 to 23.
A tanker and two bulk carriers were attacked on Dec 20, and a tanker and bulk carrier were attacked on Dec 23.
In one of the incidents on Dec 20, six pirates boarded a tanker at night and punched an engineer and hurt the chief engineer while stealing his gold chain.
In response to queries from The New Paper with regard to the spate of incidents, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said it has been broadcasting alerts to vessels to exercise vigilance when travelling along the strait.
"Singapore takes a serious view on the recent armed robbery against ships incidents in the Singapore Strait," said the spokesman.
"These incidents pose a threat to the safety and security of seafarers and vessels."
The spokesman added that the fight against piracy and armed robbery against ships is a shared responsibility.
She said: "Singapore works closely with our counterparts in Indonesia and Malaysia to tackle these threats in the Singapore Strait.
"Singapore agencies also work together to implement measures such as information-sharing and to step up patrols where necessary, to ensure the safety and security within Singapore territorial waters and the regional sea lanes."
Between 30 September 2019 and 25 December 2019, there were 16 cases of armed robbery and theft onboard ships reported, all of which occurred while the ships were outside Singapore's territorial waters.
Of these incidents, only two ships were bound for Singapore.
Officers from the Police Coast Guard (PCG) responded and boarded these two ships when they entered Singapore’s territorial waters to ensure the safety of the crew and to search for perpetrators.
However, the perpetrators had already left these two ships before they entered Singapore’s territorial waters.
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