The following analysis was issued by Dryad Maritime on Saturday 22nd August. The report illustrates the continuing security issues in Southeast Asia, including contributing factors, and the impact upon maritime trade.
Over two nights, six vessels experienced either boarding or attempted boardings in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) of the Singapore Strait. The positions of all six of these are displayed above. All the incidents were reported to Singapore Vessel Tracking Support System (VTIS). (Source: ReCAAP)
Although local VTIS have broadcast reports of incidents, there has been very little involvement from regional security forces. The response of deploying a patrol boat to the area after the event can be seen as too little, too late. These latest incidents take the total number of vessels reporting similar cases within the Singapore Strait to 75 in 2015, with 27 being reported in the last 10 weeks within a 15 nautical mile (NM) radius of Pulau Nipah. These events show a need for a permanent security presence in this area during the hours of darkness and, until this has been put in place, these boardings and robberies can be expected to continue unhindered. Until such time as a patrol is put in place, it is left to individual vessels to make their own security arrangements. As shown in a number of cases, the swift actions of an alert crew can often be sufficient to thwart potential robberies.
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Via: http://www.dryadmaritime.com/
