Asia/Pacific News
ReCAAP: 2016 Half Year Results Show Decline in Ship Hijackings for Oil Cargo Theft
The latest half year report from the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ReCAPP), which covers incidents of piracy and armed robbery in Asian waters during January to June, shows that only 2 hijackings of ships for the purpose of oil cargo theft have occurred so far in 2016, compared to 10 in 2015.
The period is also noted to have marked the end of an 8 month run in which no hijackings of ships were reported for the purpose of oil cargo theft.
As Ship & Bunker previously reported, one of those two incidents was thwarted by the Indonesian Navy, which arrested nine suspects, and recovered the MV Hai Soon 12 after it had been hijacked off Borneo while carrying an estimated 50,000 gallons of oil.
Overall, ReCAPP says the first half of 2016 saw a 65 percent year on year decrease in the number of piracy and armed robbery incidents - the lowest number of overall incidents in a 5 year period.
The Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS) saw the largest decrease in the number of incidents, with only 1 incident during January to June 2016, compared to 55 incidents during the same period of 2015.
Despite the improvement, ReCAPP reiterates that there is "no room for complacency," as recent incidents of abduction of crew are concerning.
ReCAPP says authorities will be stepping up surveillance, conducting patrols, and working to initiate more timely operational responses.
Further, the organisation urges the shipping industry "to report all incidents immediately to coastal/flag State and ReCAAP Focal Points, exercise enhanced vigilance, and adopt best practices as recommended in the Regional Guide to Counter Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia."
In June, Ship & Bunker reported that ReCAPP's year-to-date the number of incidents at the time had fallen to a four year low.
