A total of 13 acts of armed robbery against ships in Asia were reported in October 2015, compared to 18 incidents reported in September 2015, reports the piracy-watchdog ReCAAP.
Of the 13 incidents reported in October 2015, 12 were actual incidents and one was an attempted incident. No piracy incidents were reported.
From January 2015 until October 2015, a total of 174 incidents, comprising 162 actual and 12 attempted incidents, were reported.
Notably, the total number of incidents reported from January to October of 2015 is higher than the annual number of incidents reported in 2011, 2012 and 2013; but lower than that in 2014. ReCAAP said that if the average number of 17 incidents per month continues, the number of incidents for the entire 2015 is expected to be higher than that reported in 2014.
Of the 13 incidents reported in October 2015 seven occurred in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. In four of the seven incidents the perpetrators managed to steal engine spares and stores from the ships. In all the incidents, the crews were not injured and the ships suffered no damages.
The situation in the SOMS is of concern as there has been an increase in unauthorised boardings in the eastbound lane of the TSS since January 2015. From January-October 2015, a total of 103 incidents had been reported compared to 33 incidents during the same period in 2014 and eight in 2012.