ReCAAP ISC has issued the August 2019 Report on the situation of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia which notes that a total of eight incidents was reported in Asia in August and that of these eight incidents, two were piracy incidents and six were incidents of armed robbery. There wer no reports of the abduction of crew in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah; and there were no hijackings of ships for the theft of oil cargo but the abduction of crew for ransom in theSulu-Celebes Seas and the waters off Eastern Sabah remains a serious concern. ReCAAP ISC is also concerned about the increase in the number of incidents on board tug boats towing barges in the Singapore Strait; and has produced a Special Report on this subject.
Compared to August 2018, a total of nine incidents was reported in August 2018 compared to eight incidents for the same month this year, three iof which occurred on board ships while underway in the Singapore Strait, and five on board ships at anchor/berth in Indonesia, the South China Sea and Vietnam.
(Source: ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre)