ReCAAP - Monthly Report - AUGUST - Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia

OVERVIEW

In August 2020, six incidents of armed robbery against ships¹ were reported in Asia. No piracy² incident was reported. There was no report of abduction of crew in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah, Malaysia in August 2020. However, the abduction of crew for ransom remains a serious concern as demonstrated by the Warning issued by the ReCAAP ISC on 2 July 20 that five Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members were planning to conduct abduction of crew from ships passing by the TawiTawi and Sabah waters.

The ReCAAP ISC is concerned about the continued occurrence of incidents on board ships while underway in the Singapore Strait. Two incidents were reported in the Singapore Strait in August 2020. With these, a total of 21 incidents were reported in the Singapore Strait during January-August 2020 comprising 17 incidents occurred in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), two incidents in the precautionary area, one incident in the westbound lane of the TSS and one incident just outside (south) of the TSS.

AUGUST 2020 NUMBER OF INCIDENTS

In August 2020, six incidents of armed robbery against ships were reported in Asia. All incidents were actual incidents³. No attempted⁴ incident was reported. All incidents have been verified and reported to the ReCAAP ISC by ReCAAP Focal Points.

Refer to the Appendix on pages 22-23 for the description of the incidents.

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