Piracy at sea is not endemic to the coastline off the Horn of Africa and the continent’s Gulf of Guinea, although it may appear this way considering the danger carriers and assorted ocean freight vessels face, particularly in Nigerian waters.
This seems clear after three hits were reported on vessels in the Singapore Strait south of the city state over the weekend.
In comparison to the brazen heavy-armour tactics of their African counterparts, the Asian assailants were decidedly passive, even though the attacks all happened in the space of six hours.
Moreover, in one of the incidents nothing was taken.
In the other two ship equipment and a lifebuoy were lost.
According to the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP), all three incidents took place in the Strait’s Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS)
The vessels that were attacked, a tanker and two bulk carriers, respectively were the Zeno, Lefkada and Atlantic Diana.
For all its safety and civil obedience on terra firma, Singaporean waters were comparatively crime ridden, ReCAAP reported, with 31 piracy incidents recorded in the Strait since January.
ReCAAP said attacks on vessels in the Strait were a major concern, and the seemingly passive response of the relevant authorities in the region invited more attacks from perpetrators easily let off the hook.
Vessels sailing through the region have been advised to exercise extreme caution.
