The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ReCAPP) May 2016 report says that only eight incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships were reported in Asia for the month, down 65 percent from May last year.
Between January and May 2016, a total of 38 incidents were reported in Asia, and this accounts for a 56% decrease in overall number of incidents compared to January-May 2015 when 87 incidents were reported.
The number of incidents reported during January-May 2016 is the lowest among the five-year reporting period of January-May of 2012-2016.
Of the eight incidents reported in May 2016, one was Category 1 incident involving the hijacking of product tanker Hai Soon 12 off Pulau Belitung, Indonesia on 7 May 16.
However, the incident was foiled by the Indonesian authorities who intercepted and boarded the tanker, rescued the crew, apprehended the perpetrators and recovered the full cargo.
There was a Category 2 incident occurred at Samarinda Anchorage, Indonesia involving four perpetrators armed with knives who boarded a bulk carrier, tied up the crew and fled with ship stores. The other six incidents were Category 4 incidents of petty theft in nature, mostly occurred at ports and anchorages.
In comparison, there has been a decrease in the number of incidents across all categories during January-May 2016 compared to the same period in 2015. A 50% decrease in both the Category 1 and Category 2 incidents were observed during January-May 2016 compared to the same period in 2015.
Of the eight incidents reported in May 2016, four incidents occurred on board ships while anchored in Indonesia (Jakarta Tanker Anchorage, Balikpapan Inner Anchorage and Samarinda Anchorage), one in Vietnam (Vung Tau Anchorage), and one in India (Kandla Port).
The other two incidents occurred on board ships while underway in the South China Sea approaches towards Pulau Subi Besar and Java Sea, Indonesia.