ReCAAP: Asia Piracy Cases Hit 10-Year High, Bunker Piracy Responsible for the Majority of "Very Significant" Incidents

The 183 cases of piracy and armed robbery reported in 2014 are a 10-year high.

In 2014 cases of piracy and armed robbery in Asia hit a 10-year high of 183, a 22 percent over the previous year, according to data from the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP). 

The 183 cases which were reported last year comprised of 168 actual incidents and 15 attempted incidents, meaning over 90 percent of the attempts by pirates resulted in actual incidents, up from 80 percent five years ago.

Of the 183 cases, 13 were classified as Category 1, or "very significant" incidents, and it was noted that the majority of such events related to bunker piracy.

"Of the 13 Category 1 incidents, 11 incidents were siphoning of ship fuel/oil by perpetrators who boarded the ship to siphon the ship manifest of fuel/oil," said ReCAAP.

"Most of these incidents were Category 1 in nature because the perpetrators were armed with guns and knives; involved larger group of men who took control of the ship; threatened, tied and locked the crew in the cabin; siphoned the fuel/oil onboard the ship to another tanker/barge that came alongside; and before escaping, destroyed the ship's communication and navigational equipment and took the crew's cash and personal belongings."

A quarter of total cases in 2014 were in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, while Indonesia was noted as seeing a 50 percent drop in cases after improvements were made at certain ports and anchorages. 

"The ReCAAP ISC commends the efforts undertaken by the Indonesian authorities and encourages them to continue with the good work in other areas under their jurisdiction," the group said. 

The report also highlighted that the majority of incidents reported involved small groups of 1-6 perpetrators, while in half the cases, the perpetrators were unarmed. 

"The ReCAAP ISC urges ship master and crew to exercise enhanced vigilance to prevent boarding by perpetrators, but should boarding takes place, to sound the alarm, muster the crew and report to the nearest coastal State immediately," it said. 

It was reported last week that timely reporting and vigilance had led to no successful fuel siphoning incidents in November and December 2014.