Key Philippine Military and Insurgency-Related Events: Armed Robberies but No Piracy Incidents in Asia During February says ReCAAP ISC Monthly Report

Saturday, March 10, 2018

Armed Robberies but No Piracy Incidents in Asia During February says ReCAAP ISC Monthly Report

From Hellenic Shipping News (Mar 9): Armed Robberies but No Piracy Incidents in Asia During February says ReCAAP ISC Monthly Report

A total of five incidents of armed robbery against ships were reported in Asia in February 2018. No piracy incident was reported. Of the five incidents, three were actual incidents and two were attempted incidents. Of the two attempted incidents, one was an attempted incident involving the abduction of crew from a container ship at approximately 4.4 nm southwest of Sibago Island, province of Basilan, Philippines. There is no actual incident of abduction of crew and no incident of hijacking of ship for theft of oil cargo reported in February 2018.

NUMBER OF INCIDENTS

FEBRUARY 2018

In February 2018, a total of five incidents of armed robbery against ships (comprising three actual incidents and two attempted incidents) were reported. All incidents have been verified and reported to the ReCAAP ISC by ReCAAP Focal Points and regional authorities. Compared to January 2018, the situation in February 2018 has improved. A total of eight incidents were reported in January 2018 compared to five incidents in February 2018. Graph 1 shows the number of incidents reported each month from February 2017 to February 2018. Refer to the Appendix on pages 15-18 for the description of these incidents.

STATUS OF SHIPS

Of the five incidents reported in February 2018, four incidents occurred on board ships while at anchor/berth (in Bangladesh, India and Vietnam), and one incident on board ship while underway (off Basilan, Philippines).

SIGNIFICANCE LEVEL OF INCIDENTS

Chart 1 shows the significance level of incidents⁵ reported in February of 2009-2018. Of the five incidents reported in February 2018, two were CAT 3 incidents, one was a CAT 4 incident and two were attempted incidents. No CAT 1 incident was reported in February 2018 compared to one CAT 1 incident reported in February 2017. The number of actual incidents reported during February 2018 was the lowest among the 10-year reporting period (2009-2018). The location of the incidents is shown in Map below.

NUMBER OF INCIDENTS

JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2018

During January-February 2018, a total of 13 incidents were reported, of which nine were actual incidents and four were attempted incidents. Except for January-February 2009, the number of incidents reported during January-February 2018 was the lowest among the 10-year reporting period. Compared to January-February 2017, there was a 24% decrease in the total number of incidents during January-February 2018. A total of 17 incidents (comprising 14 actual incidents and three attempted incidents) were reported during January-February 2017. Graph 2 shows the number of incidents reported during January-February 2009-2018.