Asia/Pacific News
ReCAAP: No Tanker Hijackings for Oil Cargo Theft in November, Total of Three Since January
The latest report from the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ReCAPP), which covers incidents of piracy and armed robbery in Asian waters during January to November, reports no incidents involving hijacking of tankers for theft of oil cargo during the month of November, and a total of three since January 2016.
Overall, incidences of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia saw a 60 percent decrease in November 2016 compared to the same month of 2015, says ReCAAP.
"Notably continued improvement was observed in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS) with no incident reported in the SOMS since April 2016," the organisation added.
However, ReCAAP has called the situation in the Sulu-Celebes Sea and off Eastern Sabah "quite alarming," as the region has become a high risk area for crew abductions.
"The ReCAAP ISC urges all ships to re-route from the area, where possible. Otherwise, the ReCAAP ISC strongly advises master and crew to exercise enhanced vigilance and adopt anti-piracy measures when transiting the area," said ReCAAP.
"They are advised to raise alarm and alert the crew when sighting suspicious boats approaching or in the vicinity. They are strongly encouraged to report to the PCG and coastal States immediately, to alert ships in the vicinity and to increase speed and conduct evasive manoeuvres."
In July, ReCAAP released its half year report, covering incidents of piracy and armed robbery in Asian waters during January to June, which showed that only 2 hijackings of ships for the purpose of oil cargo theft had as of that time in 2016, compared to 10 in 2015.
