Increased theft of ships near the Singapore Strait

This year, there has been an increase in theft, robbery and piracy against ships in the Philips Strait, west of the Singapore Strait.

The Singapore Information Fusion Center (IFC) said that as of October 26 this year, eight incidents had occurred in the Philips Strait, compared with three in 2021. In October, the number rose significantly, and three of the eight incidents occurred after October 1.

Of the eight accidents involving seven bulk carriers and one oil tanker, four were successful and the remaining four were unsuccessful.

"All incidents occurred in dark time, and there were no reports of confrontation and injury in all incidents. In 50% of incidents, some engine parts and equipment were stolen," said IFC.

IFC observed that, according to past trends, opportunistic boarding in the Philips Strait will continue in November and December before the festival.

These incidents involved three to six perpetrators who fled after being seen by the crew to avoid confrontation.

The same group of criminals may try to board more than one ship in a row. "Vessels are encouraged to report any findings to local authorities in a timely manner to avoid subsequent boarding attempts," IFC said.

In recent years, most of the armed robberies in the Singapore Strait occurred in the eastbound channel near Batam Island and Tambin Island, Indonesia. In the first half of 2022, the ISC Oceanographic Research Center reported that 19 of the 27 accidents occurred in busy channels occurred in this area.