Robbery attempts accounted for 93 out of 97 the incidents reported against ships in Asia during 2020.
This represents an increase of 17% in the total number of incidents and a 32% increase in actual incidents, compared to 2019, according to the Singapore-based Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP)
Despite the increase of incidents, the severity level of incidents involving violence to crew and stolen items remained moderate, with 74% of incidents involving perpetrators who were not armed and crew not harmed.
In its annual piracy report released on Friday, ReCAAP noted that 34 incidents of the incidents occurred in the Singapore Strait.
There were 31 incidents reported in the Singapore Strait during 2019. Bulk carriers were the main target, reporting 21 of the total incidents.
The was also an increase in the number of reported incidents occurred in Bangladesh, India, the Philippines, Vietnam, and the South China Sea.
ReCAAP said that there was “some improvement” at anchorages in China, with no incidents reported in 2020 compared to three in 2019, and Malaysia, where there were three reported incidents in 2020 compared to eight in 2019.
Some perpetrators were arrested in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and the Singapore Strait.
ReCAAP executive director Masafumi Kuroki said that in comparison to piracy happening off West Africa, where a large number of seafarers have been kidnapped, the severity of incidents in Asia was at a "very low level".
However, he stressed that incidents in Asia during 2020 served as a stark reminder that more needed to be done to enhance the safety of maritime transport and safeguard the well-being of crews.
“Beyond vigilance, timely reporting by ships, enhanced patrol by enforcement agencies, as well as cooperation between littoral States, we believe that arrest and bringing perpetrators to justice is an essential deterrence to stop the increase of incidents.
“We urge the littoral States to take seriously petty theft and sea robbery because leaving criminals to continue their crime with impunity will only embolden them to escalate their acts,” he said.
Kuroki said the increase in robbery attempts could be related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The economic hardships caused by Covid-19 on coastal communities may have forced them to commit robberies at sea,” he said.
Kuroki said that crew fatigue caused by prolonged could also have led to less vigilance when passing through high-risk areas.
