The Republic of Singapore Navy ( RSN) disrupted a sea robbery on a tugboat in the eastern approaches of the Singapore Strait, says Ministry of Defence (MINDEF).
The sight of a warship from the RSN Maritime Security Task Force sent sea robbers who had boarded a tugboat in the Singapore Strait fleeing on Tuesday (Sep 1).
The Malaysian-flagged tugboat Permata 1 was then escorted safely to Singapore waters by the RSS Resilience, a Fearless-class patrol vessel.
The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said that the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore's Port Operations Control Centre had received a report from Permata 1, at about 9am. Those on the boat had sighted robbers boarding their barge while they were transiting the eastern approaches of the Singapore Strait, MINDEF added.
The RSN's Maritime Security Task Force (MSTF) immediately deployed its Fearless-class patrol vessel the RSS Resilience, which arrived in the vicinity at about 9.20am. Upon seeing the warship, the robbers fled towards Indonesian waters, according to MINDEF.
The RSN's Information Fusion Centre (IFC) then shared information on the incident and suspects with the Indonesian Navy's (TNI AL) Western Fleet Sea Security Group, as well as the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, which deployed assets to assist in searching for the robbers. Through the description shared by IFC, the TNI AL successfully apprehended the three robbers and recovered the stolen cargo.
Speaking about the incident, Rear-Admiral Frederick Chew, Commander of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN)'s Maritime Security Task Force, said, "I am heartened to see the good co-operation between Singaporean, Indonesian and Malaysian enforcement agencies in disrupting the sea robbery attempt on Permata 1.
"In particular, the close co-operation between the RSN and TNI AL is a reflection of the strong ties between our navies. We need to continue working closely together to keep up the pressure on sea robbers and to bring sea robbery incidents down."