Ship piracy, robberies rise 83% in Asia from Jan to June, says anti-piracy group

SINGAPORE – There were 95 incidents of piracy and armed robberies against ships in Asia from January to June, an 83 per cent increase compared with the same period the year before, according to data from the Information Sharing Centre of intergovernmental anti-piracy group ReCaap.

Most of the incidents occurred in the straits of Malacca and Singapore, which the watchdog flagged as an area of concern. There were 80 incidents in these waters over the period, compared with 21 in the first half of 2024.

A majority of the incidents in the straits of Malacca and Singapore were not severe, with no ship crew injured 90 per cent of the time.

Nine in ten incidents took place after dark, said the information centre for ReCaap, which stands for the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia.

In half of the 80 cases in the two South-east Asian straits, nothing was stolen, while in 29 per cent of the incidents, the attackers took engine spares.

About half of the attacks in the straits of Malacca and Singapore were on bulk carriers and a quarter on tankers, the information centre said.

“In most incidents, the criminals boarded ships that were ill-prepared, had low freeboard and manoeuvred at slow speed in restricted areas of the straits of Malacca and Singapore,” the ReCaap centre said. 

The authorities in the region should increase their presence in places where piracy and armed robberies repeatedly occur to arrest the culprits, said Mr Vijay D Chafekar, executive director of ReCaap Information Sharing Centre.

“Shipmasters transiting the areas of concern need to increase watchkeeping on deck during hours of darkness and install preventive measures to deter unauthorised boarding,” he said. REUTERS