The ReCAAP ISC has announced that a total of six incidents of armed robbery against ships were reported in Asia in January 2017. It is of primary importance that no incident of piracy was reported.

This is a 40% decrease in the total number of incidents compared to January 2016. There was no incident involving the hijacking of tanker for theft of oil cargo in January 2017. The ReCAAP ISC commends the littoral States for their enhanced patrols and enforcement efforts, and the shipping industry for their vigilance and implementation of preventive counter-piracy measures.

However, of serious concern was the continued occurrence of incidents involving the abduction of crew from ships while underway in the Sulu-Celebes Sea and waters off eastern Sabah. A total of two incidents were reported in January 2017, comprising one actual incident and one attempted incident. More need to be done to address the situation of abduction of crew, both on land and at sea.

The ReCAAP ISC commends the littoral States for their enhanced patrols and enforcement efforts, and the shipping industry for their vigilance and implementation of preventive counter-piracy measures taking reference from the “Regional Guide to Counter Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia”. 

 

http://www.safety4sea.com/recaap-isc-reports-improvement-jan-2017/