Vessels traveling through the Singapore Strait have been hit by a surge of pirate attacks in recent weeks, with five incidents reported in the past five days.
Knife-wielding pirates have assaulted ship crews and made off with booty including a gold chain and engine spares, according to the regional antipiracy task force that in recent years has helped turn back the once-rampant piracy that raged the Strait of Malacca.
The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia said two of the incidents were reported Monday, with three happening Friday. The incidents may have involved the same pirates, as they happened in a similar vicinity.
“With the two incidents that occurred on 23 December 2019, a total of 29 incidents have been reported in the Singapore Strait in 2019. Of these, 15 occurred to ships while underway in the westbound lane of the Singapore Strait and 14 incidents in the eastbound lane of the Strait,” the group said in a Monday statement.
It advised ships to be more vigilant, take precautionary measures and report incidents immediately to the nearest coastal authorities.
All five of the latest incidents happened at night or in the wee hours of the morning.
Just before midnight on Dec. 20, six individuals with knives boarded the tanker Jag Lalit that was en route to Taiwan. The pirates attacked two engineers, punching one in the face and bruising the other to steal his gold chain.
The incident was reported to Singapore’s vessel traffic information system and the tanker was later redirected to Singapore so police coast guard officers could verify the crew’s safety before allowing the vessel to continue its voyage.
Around the same time that night, the bulk carrier Akij Globe was boarded by five armed individuals who sneaked into its engine room.
“The alarm was raised and upon hearing the alarm, the perpetrators confronted three crew in the engine room. The five perpetrators escaped with stolen engine and generator spares in a white small boat,” the report said.
Early Monday morning, three intruders – one armed with a knife — were found in the engine room of the tanker Bamzi just after midnight. They escaped after hearing an alarm.
Two of the vessel’s crew were later found tied up; no items were stolen.
Nearly two hours later, six individuals boarded the bulk carrier Trust Star and tied up two crew members. They also escaped after the alarm was raised, and the tied-up crew members managed to free themselves.
Singapore police coast guard officers were alerted to the incident and went aboard to give the all-clear sign before the boat was allowed on to China.
“Due to the close proximity and short time interval between the two incidents (less than two hours), the possibility that the same group of perpetrators responsible for the incidents on 23 December 2019 cannot be ruled out,” the anti-piracy agency wrote.
Last month, it reported four such incidents in the same body following three in October.
Piracy there stretches back centuries, and its modern incarnation accounted for 40% of global piracy as of 2004, according to the International Chamber of Commerce. Since then, multinational efforts have helped reduce the number and severity of pirate attacks.
More news from the Little Red Dot at Coconuts.co/Singapore.
