Pirates on the eastern seas of the Singapore Strait were right in the middle of robbing a Malaysian-flagged tugboat yesterday morning when a Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) warship arrived to the rescue, sending the marauders scattering in fear.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore received a report from the Permata 1 tugboat around 9am yesterday that robbers had been sighted boarding their barge. The Navy’s RSS Resilience was deployed to the disrupt the ongoing raid, successfully sending the pirates fleeing towards Indonesian waters as soon as the warship appeared in the horizon.
The Indonesian Navy’s Western Fleet Sea Security Group as well as the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency received information about the incident, and both agencies deployed assets in search of the pirates. Three robbers were arrested while their stolen cargo were recovered safely.
The Permata 1 was safely escorted by the RSS Resilience to Singapore waters, where the Police Coast Guard boarded the tugboat for investigations.
Photo: MINDEF newsroom
