ReCAAP issues report for October 2013
The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre has issued piracy report for October 2013. During this month, a total of 16 incidents reported, comprising of 15 actual incidents and one attempted incident.
Of these incident occured during last month, two were piracy incidents and the remaining were robberies against ships. The two piracy incidents occurred in the South China Sea involving product tanker, Danai 4 on 10 Oct 13, and product tanker Danai 5 on 27 Oct 13.
Danai 4 was boarded by pirates who took her away to offload the Marine Gas Oil (MGO) she was carrying. Details of the incident are shared as a case study in the report (please see below). In the case of Danai 5, the pirates failed to board the tanker when the crew noticed two speed boats approaching the tanker and raised the alarm, and the master increased speed and changed direction. The alertness of the crew has resulted in the pirates aborted their attempt to board Danai 5.
ReCAAP notices that while the number of incidents reported in October 2013 had increased compared to October 2012, majority of the incidents in October 2013 were petty theft incidents. The number of Category 2 incidents reported in October 2013 had decreased compared to the same period 2010- 2012, while the number of Category 3 incidents had remained fairly consistent throughout the five-year reporting period.
ReCAAP concludes that as in the case of Danai 4, the time lapse in reporting the loss of communication has made it more challenging to locate the missing vessel and given sufficient time for the pirates to sail the tanker to an area to siphon off the MGO.
In view of the situation in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, the ReCAAP ISC recommends owners of tug boats and barges to consider strengthening security measures on their barges.The ReCAAP ISC urges shipping companies to report all incidents and suspicious activity concerning its vessels to the relevant authorities promptly.
Source: http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/
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