Kitack Lim, secretary general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), expressed his organisation’s concern over the rise in robberies against ships transiting the Singapore Strait.
Speaking at a piracy conference organised by the Singapore-based Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) on Tuesday, Lim said this increase in the number of incidents in the Singapore Strait is of great concern, and reminded the shipping industry not to become complacent and “lose sight of the serious challenges posed by piracy and armed robbery”.
Although the total number of piracy incidents fell by 25% globally during the first three months of this year, in Asia it increased by 29% as compared to the same period in 2021.
Of the 22 incidents reported in Asia during the first quarter of 2022, 17 incidents occurred in the Singapore Strait, which the IMO classifies as being part of the Straits of Malacca.
The number of incidents in the Singapore Strait has been growing despite overall declines elsewhere in Asia. In 2021 the number of incidents climbed to 69 from 48 incidents in 2020.
These are classed as low-level incidents in which robbers board ships to steal supplies and engine parts. In most cades they are unarmed or carry knives, and flee the ship once spotted without harming its crew.
ReCAAP executive director Krishnaswamy Natarajan stressed that the fight against piracy and armed robbery against ships is a shared responsibility. He said that a collaborative and sustained vigilance effort by the authorities of the littoral States “would certainly reduce the incidence of piracy and sea robbery”.
