In a statement today the association explained an estimated 50,000 to 90,000 vessels transit the Straits of Malacca and Singapore each year and further numbers sailing around the South East Asia and South China seas.
“It can be calculated that the likelihood of a merchant vessel, which exercises high vigilance and conducts anti-boarding watch, being attacked is between 0.012 and 0.07%,” the SSA said.
“The situation in the South China Sea is vastly different to the situation in the Gulf of Aden where heavily armed pirates board vessels in open seas with the intention of taking the ship and its crew hostage for ransom payments,” the association said in a statement today.
It came as the SSA cautioned that piracy, on the high seas, and armed robbery, incidents in territorial waters, should not be confused.
