During 25 – 26 October 2020, three incidents of armed robbery against ships occurred on board ships while underway in theeastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait

The incidents occurred within intervals of two hours and in close proximity to each other

With these three incidents, a total of six incidents were reported on board ships in the eastbound lane of the TSS during 11-26 October 2020 so far

It is the highest number of incidents reported in one month compared to the previous months of 2020 (January-September)

In all six incidents, there was no confrontation between the perpetrators and the crew

One lifebuoy and some welding rods were stolen in one incident, and nothing was stolen in the other five incidents

With the six incidents in October, a total of 28 incidents have been reported in the Singapore Strait since January 2020, of which

24 incidents occurred in the eastbound lane of the TSS
One incident in the westbound lane of the TSS
Two incidents in the precautionary area
One incident just outside (south) of the TSS
 
For details of the incidents, please refer to the full Incident Alert 6/2020 on the ReCAAP ISC website.

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Xinde Marine News.