Two armed pirates were spotted in the engine room of a bulker transiting the increasingly dangerous Philip Channel in the Singapore Strait.
Maritime intelligence company Ambrey Analytics said the incident occurred on Saturday in Indonesian waters, five nautical miles (9 km) north-west of Kapalajernih Island.
The unnamed Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged bulk carrier was boarded while transiting eastbound.
No weapons were originally reported during the boarding, but local authorities subsequently revealed that two perpetrators, armed with “gun-like” objects had been sighted in the engine room.
No injuries or stolen items were reported.
The ship was underway at 6.5 knots and had an estimated freeboard of 6.2 metres.
Ambrey observed the bulker continuing its planned route to Singapore on Monday.
The raid was the second boarding incident in the Philip Channel within 24 hours.
The passage is a 1.96 nautical mile of the Strait and its narrowest point.
Last week, Ambrey reported two more boarding incidents there.
On 21 January, a Singapore-flagged vessel was targeted by six individuals while transiting eastbound 10 nautical miles south of Singapore’s Tuas South, in Indonesia waters.
The suspects were reportedly armed with bladed weapons and a “gun-like” object, Ambrey said.
The bulker was able to continue its journey, but it was not clear what was taken from the ship.
No injuries to crew members were reported.
Ambrey said the same number of pirates of a similar description boarded a different bulker 73 hours before this.
This vessel was a Marshall Islands-flagged unit heading east past Belakang Padang Island, Indonesia.
“It is recommended to carry out partnered deck patrols. Do not confront criminals,” Ambrey advised.
The attacks came after a couple of boardings in the channel at the end of December and earlier in January.
On 8 January, Ambrey said four armed men got onto the deck of an unnamed Liberia-flagged bulk carrier, again while the vessel was transiting eastbound.
