Piracy and armed robbery in Asia’s strategic waterways are on the rise, increasing 6% year on year in 2024, according to an Asian piracy watchdog.
There were 107 reported incidents in 2024, compared with 101 in 2023, the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia Information Sharing Centre (ReCAAP ISC) said.
The highest rise in incidents was in Bangladesh, up by 12, likely due to the increase in crime because of political instability in the region.
Overall, more incidents were reported in the second half of the year.
ReCAAP ISC executive director Krishnaswamy Natarajan said: “There is a surge in the number of incidents in the second half of the year as this is the during the festive season where perpetrators perhaps faced greater financial burdens, so they had to resort to stealing engine spares and selling them to supplement their income.”
Two Category 1 incidents, where armed perpetrators had taken crew hostage, were a particular concern. The last time Category 1 incidents were reported was in 2020.
Both incidents occurred off Central Kalimantan, Indonesia.
The first kidnapping occurred in 2024 where the master and crew were held hostage for more than 27 hours. The second incident was in September when a master and crew were threatened in the mess room and tied up with plastic ropes.
ReCAAP ISC noted the Central Kalimantan Police had arrested 14 suspected perpetrators involved in the September incident.
Stable regions
Meanwhile in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS), incidents were down 2% year on year, from 63 in 2023 to 62 in 2022.
“In most incidents, the criminals boarded ships that were ill-prepared with low freeboard, and manoeuvred at slow speeds in the restricted areas of the SOMS,” ReCAAP ISC said.
Most (89%) of the incidents in SOMS occurred on bulkers, due to them having “large wide spaces and holds which are easier to attack”, Natarajan said.
The thefts were mainly minor, involving ship stores, scrap metal and engine spares.
“Transnational maritime petty crimes like these are likely to remain constant in South East Asia waters,” Natarajan said, noting that authorities still needed to be vigilant due to the current uncertainty overall.
Looking forward, Natarajan said that crime in Asian waters could be prevented if certain aspects were taken into account.
“In 2025, three factors to watch out for are cyber crime, grey shipping [dark fleet] and piracy due to [geopolitical)]conflicts in certain areas,” he said.(Copyright)
