Six vessels were targeted by pirates while underway in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS) on 21 Aug and 22 Aug 2015, Asia’s piracy watchdog ReCAAP ICS said.
Namely, the Singapore Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS) received reports via VHF about five unauthorized boardings and an attempted one.
The vessels in question are three tankers, Advantage Summer, Elbtank Denmark and Navig8 Stealth SV, two container ships, Atout and Maersk Lebu, and a bulk carrier named Peace Bright.
Once informed of the incidents, the Singapore Port Operation Control Center (POCC) notified the authorities of the littoral States and initiated navigational broadcast to warn mariners to maintain anti-piracy watch.
All crews are reported to be safe. Only Elbtank Denmark reported loss of property as four perpetrators armed with knives stole the crew’s personal effects and escaped in a small boat.
According to ReCAAP ICS, considering the close interval of time and proximity of these incidents, the perpetrators could possibly be from the same group.
“From the description of the incidents, the perpetrators operated in about 4-5 persons, armed with knives and were opportunistic in nature without targeting specific vessels. They aborted boarding when crew was alerted, and escaped empty-handed when the alarm was raised without harming the crew. Of concern was their persistence in ‘hovering’ in the vicinity seeking out their next target,” ReCAAP said.