< Compared with the same period from 2014, the amount of incidents has doubled in the precarious Southeast Asian waters >

The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia(ReCAAP) has reported a sharp increase in the number of incidents from this past quarter, January-March 2015 in relation to the same time period in 2013 where there were 29 incidents reported; 38 have already been reported for Q1 2015. When compared with the same period from 2014, the amount of incidents has doubled in the precarious Southeast Asian waters of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore as well as at some ports in Vietnam. Especially, a tanker is hijacked by pirates in Southeast Asia every 2 weeks on average, a report from the International Chamber of Commerce(ICC) International Maritime Bureau(IMB) has revealed.

Unfortunately, with a recent piracy attack on a Malaysian oil tanker on May 15th, the growing security concerns for ships at sea or docked in this region has heightened, leaving a very urgent need to enhance vigilant security measures.

Every year ports and merchant ships are preferred targets for pirates because of their economic importance and vulnerability both at sea and docked due to the difficulty in securing vast, open waters and coastlines. While some strides have been made in legislation for the protection of ports and waterways, unfortunately, they remain largely exposed to these dangerous threats.

Sadly, traditional security measures like radars are not effective in combating against piracy as they are unable to detect the smaller, wooden boats that are commonly used. A solution that is rugged and able to stand up in the corrosive and unforgiving environment of the sea that can detect Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat(RHIB)s, swimmers, and wooden boats would be the most viable tool for anti-piracy counter-measures.

SHIELD warned of complacency about the threat of being exposed to piracy attacks twenty-four seven. If there is less resistance than pirates had expected, they may then proceed with an attempt to board or attack, using additional reinforcements. Therefore, to deal with situations, need for greater security measures are definitely required as well. Fortunately, the implementation of BMP4 is still effective in warning off any skiffs and small boats, even mother vessel which might otherwise have had close contact with the transiting vessels.

Article Published on 27 May, 2015