A TOTAL of 16 incidents, comprising of 15 actual incidents and one attempted incident, were reported in October 2013.
Of the 16 incidents, two were piracy incidents and 14 were robberies against ships. The two piracy incidents occurred in the South China Sea involving product tanker, Danai 4 on 10 Oct and product tanker Danai 5 on 27 Oct. Danai 4 was boarded by pirates who too her away to offload the Marine Gas Oil (MGO) she was carrying. Details of the incident are shared as a case study in this report. In the case of Danai 5, the pirates failed to board the tanker when the crew noticed two speed boats approaching the tanker and raised the alarm, and the master increased speed and changed direction. The alertness of the crew has resulted in the pirates aborted their attempt to board Danai 5.
Of the 15 actual incidents reported in October, one was Category 1 (moderatley significant) incidents, two were Category 3 (less significant) incidents and nine were petty theft (minimum significant) incidents.
The Cat 1 incident involved the siphoning of MGO from oil tanker, Danai 4. The number of Cat 2 incidents had decreased compared to same period in past years, while the number of Cat 3 incidents had remained fairly consistent throughout the five-year reporting period. About 60% of the incidents reported in Oct 2013 were petty theft incidents, highest number reported amon the same peiod in the past four years.
Of the 16 incidents reported in October 2013, 10 incidents occurred onboard vessels at anchor/berth; and six incidents while vessels were underway. While the number of incidents reported in October 2013 had increased compared to October 2012, the majority of the incidents in October 2013 were petty theft incidents.
Conclusion
In view of the situation in the Striats of Malacca and Singapore, ReCAAP ISC recommends owners of tug boats and barges to consider strengthening security measures on their barges.
Shipping companies are urged to report all incidents and suspicious activity concerning its vessles to relevant authorities promptly. As in the case of Danai 4, the time lapse in reporting the loss of communication has made it more challenging to locate the missing vessel and given sufficient time for the pirates to sail the tanker to an area to siphon off the MGO.
Original Source: ReCAAP ISC 
Via: http://www.oceanuslive.org/
