Information Fusion Centre News

The Indian Navy on Friday rescued the crew of a merchant vessel after its attempted hijack in the Arabian Sea and said it had not found any pirates on board.An Indian Navy warship intercepted the Liberian-flagged MV Lila Norfolk bulk carrier less than a day after it had received a report that the vessel had been hijacked about 460 nautical miles off Somalia.About five to six armed people boarded the vessel on Thursday, according to a report received by the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency…

Three bulk carriers were robbed in the Singapore Strait earlier this week, a Singapore-based regional maritime security centre on Friday. One of the busiest commercial waterways in the world has seen a spike in piracy in recent years. The incidents of "petty crime" happened between Aug 8-9, when the ships were in the Phillip Channel in the Singapore Strait, said the Information Fusion Centre, which is a regional facility hosted by the Singapore navy. One of the ships was flagged to Cyprus, while the other two carried Liberia flags, the center said in a statement.

The inaugural Meeting of Anti-Piracy Contact Points and Workshop on Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships involving participants from Africa and Asia was held in Singapore today. Organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information Sharing Centre (ISC), the two-day meeting gathered about 20 participants to foster closer linkages amongst anti-piracy contact points to enable more effective information sharing and communication. Timely sharing and dissemination of information can often play a decisive role in deterring incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships.

On 8 May 16, the ReCAAP ISC received information from the shipping company about the loss of communications with product tanker, Hai Soon 12. Hai Soon 12 , carrying 4,000 metric tons of Marine Gas Oil (MGO), departed Singapore for the Southern Ocean to conduct high seas bunkering/selling MGO to fishing vessels. However, the ship was observed to have deviated from her planned route and moved in an easterly direction towards Sulawesi. Upon receipt of the information, the ReCAAP ISC immediately informed BAKAMLA, who shared the information with the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL). The incident was also reported to the Information Fusion Centre (IFC), who worked closely with the shipping company to monitor the position of Hai Soon 12.

The Republic of Singapore Navy ( RSN) disrupted a sea robbery on a tugboat in the eastern approaches of the Singapore Strait, says Ministry of Defence (MINDEF). The sight of a warship from the RSN Maritime Security Task Force sent sea robbers who had boarded a tugboat in the Singapore Strait fleeing on Tuesday (Sep 1). The Malaysian-flagged tugboat Permata 1 was then escorted safely to Singapore waters by the RSS Resilience, a Fearless-class patrol vessel. The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said that the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore's Port Operations Control Centre had received a report from Permata 1, at about 9am. Those on the boat had sighted robbers boarding their barge while they were transiting the eastern approaches of the Singapore Strait, MINDEF added.

The Information Fusion Centre from the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has expressed its appreciation for Thome’s hospitality after the company hosted a visit by 15 Navy and Coastguard delegates from eight nations as part of the regional maritime information sharing exercise programme for Exercise Bell Buoy. The delegates discussed and shared current security practices within the merchant shipping industry in their respective areas of operations and how these could be applicable to the local context. The exercise was hosted by RSN from May 18 to 22, 2015. The exercise took place alongside the 10th International Maritime Defence Exhibition (IMDEX) Asia 2015 which was attended by 52 delegations from the navies…

ReCAAP ISC and Information Fusion Centre (IFC)  have jointly published a Tug Boats and Barges Guide (TaB) against piracy and sea robbey. The purpose of this guide is to capture tips, guidelines, reporting procedures and contact details for tug boat owners, operators and crew in avoiding hijacking and robbery onboard tug boats and barges. The guide contains inputs and experience of tug boat owners, operators and masters whose vessels had been robbed or hijacked; and modus operandi of the robbers and hijackers.

ReCAAP issue 'Tug Boats & Barge' guide to help owners, operators and crew stay safe from hijacking and piracy. The guide contains inputs and experience of tug boat owners, operators and masters whose vessels had been robbed or hijacked; and modus operandi of the robbers and hijackers. In planning a passage, the guide highlights the responsibilities of the ship owner, ship master and crew at the various phases: the pre-sailing, sailing and post incident reporting/follow-up phases. In past four years (2008-2011), it was observed that more tug boats and barges had been targets of robbery and hijacking in certain locations of Asia. The inherent characteristics and activities of tug boats towing barges had made these vessels relatively more vulnerable…