Maritime robbers armed with knives abandoned their attempt at pilferage on a Norden-controlled panamax bulker anchored off an Indonesian port after the crew responded quickly to their unwanted presence.
According to an alert issued on Wednesday by security services provider Falcon Mega Solutions, vigilant crew members spotted the two perpetrators near the forecastle store on the 82,400-dwt bulker Nord Aquarius (built 2022) and quickly sounded the alarm.
The ship, owned by Japan’s Nissen Kaiun, was at the time in the anchorage of the Indonesian port of Belawan, which is located along the Malacca Strait.
The alarm was immediately raised and a public address announcement made to muster the crew.
“Hearing the alarm and seeing the crew's alertness, the robbers fled the vessel and escaped with properties stolen from the vessel,” the report noted.
The incident was reported to the Belawan VTS, which relayed the message to the Indonesian Marine Police.
No crew were harmed during the incident.
While Asian waters have been free of serious acts of piracy for several years, opportunistic robbery attempts against vessels remain commonplace, especially in Indonesian ports as well as in nearby waters such as the Singapore and Malacca straits.
The robbers usually attempt to make off with stores and engine spares, but very rarely attempt to engage with crews.
According to the Singapore-based piracy watchdog ReCAAP, six such incidents were reported in and around Indonesian ports in the first six months of this year, with a further 27 attempts reported in the Singapore Strait.
ReCAAP continuously stresses the need for crews to remain vigilant when in these waters.
Nissen Kaiun declined to comment on the attack against the Nord Aquarius, while staff at Norden’s Singapore office referred TradeWinds questions to the company’s Copenhagen head office, which could not be reached outside of office hours on Thursday.
Vessel tracking data shows that the Nord Aquarius departed Belawan for Palembang on Wednesday.
