There has been an increase in sea robbery and piracy related incidents around the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. Singapore is located along one of the world’s busiest waterways, with close to 1,000 ships anchored there at any given time. A ship calls at Singapore port every two to three minutes, bringing the total to around 130,000 ships a year and making it critical for maritime passage in the region to be piracy-free.

The Gulf of Guinea represented a high number of piracy and armed robbery attacks at sea, with 22 incidents reported in the first quarter of 2019. The region also accounted for all of the worldwide crew kidnappings as 21 crew members were kidnapped across five separate incidents. Incidents were reported in the coastal countries, of Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria and Togo in the first quarter of 2019.

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Risk of abduction of crew is high,” Kuroki said, with reference to the Sulu-Celebes Seas.

He said that ReCAAP is maintaining its advisory for ships to avoid the Sulu-Celebes Seas region and re-route from the area, wherever possible.

Ships passing through the region must exercise extra vigilance and maintain communication at all times with the maritime authorities of the Philippines and Malaysia, he said.

Since March 2016, 75 crew members have been abducted in the region, of which 10 either died or were killed, while the rest were released.

From industrial raw materials such as coal to essential food items like rice, commodities worth billions of dollars move on commercial ships near the Sulu Sea and the Celebes Sea, industry estimates showed.

Established in 2006, ReCAAP is the first regional government-to-government agreement to promote and enhance cooperation against piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia. It has 20 member countries, including all members of ASEAN except Malaysia and Indonesia, with France and Germany expected to join ReCAAP in the future.

Risk of abduction of crew is high,” Kuroki said, with reference to the Sulu-Celebes Seas.

He said that ReCAAP is maintaining its advisory for ships to avoid the Sulu-Celebes Seas region and re-route from the area, wherever possible.

Ships passing through the region must exercise extra vigilance and maintain communication at all times with the maritime authorities of the Philippines and Malaysia, he said.

Since March 2016, 75 crew members have been abducted in the region, of which 10 either died or were killed, while the rest were released.

From industrial raw materials such as coal to essential food items like rice, commodities worth billions of dollars move on commercial ships near the Sulu Sea and the Celebes Sea, industry estimates showed.

Established in 2006, ReCAAP is the first regional government-to-government agreement to promote and enhance cooperation against piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia. It has 20 member countries, including all members of ASEAN except Malaysia and Indonesia, with France and Germany expected to join ReCAAP in the future.

Vira Maritime