Vessels transiting the Singapore Strait remain safe and the overall risk from sea robberies has not increased, top Singaporean enforcement agencies say.

A joint statement issued by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the country's defence ministry (MINDEF) said vessels remained safe despite figures reported by the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) showing that robbery attempts had risen to 47 incidents in 2021.

"The overall risk from sea robberies has not increased, given that more than 1,000 vessels pass through the Singapore Strait daily," the agencies said while highlighting that the incidents largely comprise of cases of petty theft, and most are opportunistic and non-confrontational.

"The tactics and modus operandi of the perpetrators remain the same, consisting of petty crime involving the theft of crew belongings, engine parts, or scrap metal. These petty theft incidents were of low severity, in which the crew were usually unharmed, and the perpetrators unarmed."

On Wednesday, ReCAAP executive director Masafumi Kuroki warned that the number of incidents in the Singapore Strait have been rising since in 2019, and while the severity level was not very high, the situation needed to be quickly addressed before it escalated.

The MPA and MINDEF acknowledged that the increase in the number of sea robbery incidents was likely due to the worsening of Covid-19 situation, which had imposed financial and economic difficulties on local communities and affected their livelihoods, but stressed that maintaining the security of Singapore waters is a top priority for the country's national agencies.

"While Covid-19 made enforcement efforts more challenging, we will continue to work with the relevant maritime agencies and authorities of neighbouring littoral States to collectively address maritime incidents and threats," the agencies said.

"Given the transnational nature of sea robberies in the Singapore Strait, the Republic of Singapore Navy’s Maritime Security Command works closely with Indonesian and Malaysian maritime enforcement agencies, including their navies and coast guards, to exchange information, discuss ways to strengthen cooperation, and take action both at sea and ashore," they added.

Proactive approach

Maritime & Port Authority chief executive Quah Ley Hoon. Photo: Singapore Maritime Foundation

The MPA was described as taking a proactive approach towards ensuring that both the Singapore and Malacca straits remained safe for seafarers and vessels.

"The MPA partners closely with the shipping industry to raise awareness in the Singapore and Malacca Straits about maintaining vigilance … MPA regularly issues information on sea robbery incidents to vessels most commonly involved in such incidents, such as bulk carriers and tankers, which depart from the Port of Singapore.

"This is in addition to MPA’s reminders to industry to adopt the counter-piracy measures recommended in ReCAAP ISC’s Regional Guide to Counter Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia."

The agencies also explained that Singapore's Police Coast Guard (PGC) worked closely with maritime security agencies in ensuring the safety and security of Singapore’s waters.

"PCG leverages on international cooperation, patrols, and a network of cameras and systems to detect and respond to criminal activities within Singapore’s territorial waters.

"Our national agencies, which include the MPA, the PCG, and the Republic of Singapore Navy, work in concert to ensure the security of Singapore territorial waters 24/7. In addition, the Singapore Maritime Crisis Centre, a whole-of-government set up for maritime security also maintains comprehensive situational awareness and coordinates responses to rule out maritime security threats."

Michael Phoon, executive director of Singapore Shipping Association, said that the shipping industry has been actively working with government agencies and there is close collaboration among all stakeholders.

"These incidents have not had a major impact on shipping traffic, and there has not been a rise in insurance premiums as the incidents are of low severity,” he said.

ReCAAP said on Wednesday that robbery incidents in Asia during 2021 fell to their second lowest level in 15 years.

In total, there were 82 reported incidents, a 15% drop from the 97 incidents reported in 2020.

Significantly, there were no Category 1 incidents involving violent attacks against, or abducting of, seafarers since ReCAAP first began compiling statistics in 2006.