Pirates Board Bulker in Singapore Strait

Four perpetrators boarded the Philippine-flagged bulk carrier Western Seattle while the ship was en route to Singapore on February 28, 2020.

Illustration. Image Courtesy: Pixabay under CC0 Creative Commons license

The boarding occurred approximately 3.5 nm east of Pulau Karimun Kecil, Indonesia in the eastbound lane of the IMO-adopted Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait.

The crew informed the master who raised the alarm and mustered all crew in the wheelhouse, Asian piracy watchdog ReCAAP said. The incident was reported to the Singapore Vessel Traffic Information System.

“There was no confrontation between the crew and perpetrators and nothing was stolen,” ReCAAP added.

“The Republic of Singapore Navy escorted the ship into Singapore and upon arrival, the Singapore Police Coast Guard boarded the ship to conduct a search. No perpetrator was found.”

The 57,900 dwt Supramax bulker, built in 2014, is owned by Nisshin Shipping from Japan, according to the data from VesselsValue.