ReCAAP ISC has issued an alert warning of possible additional sea robberies after three incidents involving ships underway in the eastbound lane of the Singapore Strait Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) on November 2, 4 and 10.
The incidents occurred at night about 3.2 nautical miles apart and involved two bulk carriers and a tanker.
One crewmember was injured and engine spares were stolen from two of the ships.
The three boardings bring the number of incidents reported in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS) since January to 28.
"Following a significant decline in incidents over the past ten months, there has been a recent spike in reported sea robbery incidents onboard ships while underway in the Singapore Strait," the centre said.
At 21:25 on November 2, three perpetrators carrying a gun-like object were seen in the workshop within the engine room of the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Star Calypso about 9.7 nautical miles off Pulau Cula, Indonesia. They tied a crewmember with ropes, leaving him with a minor hand injury, and stole engine spares.
Seven to eight unarmed perpetrators were sighted on the poop deck of the Indian-flagged bulk carrier APJ Priti 2 at 23:35 on November 4. Nothing was stolen.
Engine spare parts were taken from a tanker at 02:40 on November 10.
Both bulk carriers reported to the Singapore Vessel Traffic Information System, and the Singapore Police Coast Guard later boarded each ship at anchor to investigate. Information was shared with the Indonesian authorities.
ReCAAP ISC urged ships to, "maintain sharp lookout while transiting the areas of concern, particularly during hours of darkness," and to fit CCTV cameras at potential boarding places. It also called on littoral states to, "increase patrols/surveillance in their respective waters, respond promptly to incidents reported by ships, strengthen coordination, and promote information sharing."
The centre recorded 23 SOMS incidents during January–September, compared with 97 a year earlier, as part of a 58 per cent fall across Asia. All but one were in the eastbound TSS lane.
The SOMS recorded 108 incidents in 2025, the highest annual total in the centre's records.
