Thieves Attack Barge Twice in One Day

A towed barge underway in the eastbound lane of the Singapore Strait was robbed twice on January 18.

In both incidents, the thieves stole scrap metal but did not confront the crew.

At about 1129 hrs, tug boat Kim Hock Tug 9 towing barge LKH 2882 was en route from Singapore to Vietnam when seven perpetrators were sighted on the barge. The perpetrators escaped in two or three sampans upon seeing another tug Kim Hock Virgo approaching them.

Later that day at about 1551 hrs, a repeated unauthorized boarding occurred on the same barge. Seven perpetrators were sighted on the barge. Two Singapore Police Coast Guard (PCG) craft were dispatched to intercept.

The perpetrators fled in their sampans upon seeing the PCG craft.

Earlier this month, the tanker British Mariner was boarded while underway in the eastbound lane of the TSS in the Singapore Strait. Two unarmed perpetrators were sighted in the engine room. The alarm was raised, and the perpetrators escaped empty-handed.

The British Mariner had departed Singapore and was bound for Hong Kong.

In 2019, the ReCAAP ISC issued five incident alerts about incidents involving ships underway in the eastbound lane of Singapore Strait. 31 incidents were reported in the Singapore Strait in 2019.

Of these, 15 occurred to ships while underway in the westbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait and 16 incidents in the eastbound lane of the Singapore Strait.

All ships are strongly advised to exercise utmost vigilance, adopt extra precautionary measures and report all incidents immediately to the nearest coastal State.