IFC - Information Fusion Centre - MARSEC Weekly Report

Highlights:

A. ROBBERY / PIRACY - 2 events reported last week :

• 1 Sea Theft on a Tug and Barge underway in Kutubdia Channel (Bangladesh), by 20 perpetrators from three fishing boats;

• 1 Sea Theft on a Offshore Supply Ship, anchored at Kakinada Anchorage (India) by 7perpetrators from a dinghy boat.

B. MARITIME INCIDENTS

• A general cargo ship sank in Aomori Prefecture waters, northeast Honshu, Pacific, after collision with local fishing boat. The ship loaded with scrap suffered hull breach with ensuing water ingress. 13 out of 14 crew went missing, 1 crew was rescued.

• A fishing boat carrying eight crew members caught fire in waters off Jeju Island, leaving. Two of the eight crew members have been rescued, with search operations for the missing six still ongoing;

C. CONTRABAND

• The Indian Coast Guard and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 15kg gold and apprehended two people and their fishing boat in a joint anti-smuggling operation off the Gulf of Mannar;

• Sri Lanka's biggest drug bust was intercepting two trawlers that had 400kg of heroin and 100kg of meth some 1,100km from Sri Lanka's coast.

D. IRREGULAR HUMAN MIGRATION

• 23 victims of Trafficking in Person onboard passenger vessel were rescued by Philippine Coast Guard;

• 16 Rohingya refugees were rescued by Bangladeshi police in the southern district of Cox's Bazar while trying to illegally migrate to Malaysia by sea trawler

Reminder about Singapore strait transit protection measures :

• Take a previous contact before any transit in Singapore strait (sectors 7 to 9) with Singaporean authorities and timely reporting any suspicious activity : https://www.mpa.gov.sg/web/portal/home/port-of-singapore/operations/vessel-traffic-information-system-vtis/operational-areas ;

• Increase vigilance in watch-keeping and deploy additional lookout ;

• Be wary of suspicious small boats approaching. Take photo of the suspicious boat and send to me as soon as possible ;

• Use CCTV cameras for coverage of vulnerable areas (if available) ;

• Keep ship's whistle, search lights and fog horn ready for immediate use ;

• Secure or lift external ladders to prevent their use and to restrict external access to the bridge ;

• Deploy Self-Protection Measures (SPM) eg. Rig the water spray hoses and foam monitors in a fixed position. Evasive manoeuvres have also been proven to deter perpetrators in the areas of concern ;

• Secure all doors and hatches providing access to the accommodation and machinery spaces ;

• Rig safety precautionary measures on the anchor cable hawse pipe while anchored.