Singapore Straits News

Reported incidents of piracy and attacks on vessels are on the rise in key hotspot areas such as the Gulf of Guinea and Singapore Straits.Sixty-five incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships were recorded globally in the first half of 2023, an increase from 58 incidents for the same period in 2022, according to a mid-year report from the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB). Of the 65 incidents reported, 57 vessels were boarded, four had attempted attacks, two were hijacked and two were fired upon. Perpetrators successfully boarded 90% of targeted vessels.

The coronavirus's effect on energy markets is worsening, as the sharp fall in demand in China, the world's largest importer of crude, is stranding oil cargoes off the country's coast and prompting shippers to seek out other Asian destinations.More than 1,360 people have died from the coronavirus in China, which has disrupted the world's second largest economy and shaken energy markets, with international benchmark Brent crude oil down 15% since the beginning of the year.Major international energy forecasters expect demand to fall in this quarter…

An undersea cable and pipe-laying ship, the Vanuatu-flagged MV Star Centurion, capsized in the Indonesian waters of the Singapore Straits after a collision with a tanker on Sunday, with no fatalities, authorities said on Monday.The Singapore Straits are one of the world's busiest shipping zones with hundreds of container ships, oil and fuel tankers and dry bulk carriers daily traversing the waters that connect east Asia to Europe, India and Africa.The collision happened just north of Bintan, an Indonesian island in the Riau Islands province that sits opposite the city-state of Singapore."It's already capsized," Samsul Nizar, the head of operations at the Indonesian coast guard base at Tanjung Uban on Bintan…

It’s not where you are, it’s where you should not be that mattersCaptain Whyte, a leading marine accident analyst at LOC Group, an independent marine and engineering consultancy which provides services to the shipping and offshore energy industries, explains how electronic data is making accident investigation clearer by providing irrefutable evidence.“Fundamentally, situational awareness underpins everything we do”, said Captain Whyte. “Whether that’s crossing the road or driving ships at sea. We need to know where we are, what we’re doing and where we are going.

A number of former executives of Keppel Corp have been arrested by Singaporean authorities in a probe related to charges its rig-building unit bribed Brazilian officials, Singapore’s Straits Times newspaper reported. The report said that  six executives had been arrested by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), including Tay Kim Hock, former president and chief executive of Keppel Fels Brasil, and are currently out on bail. The former Keppel executives were reported to have been called in for questioning relating to a corruption scandal that saw Keppel agreeing to $422.2m in penalties in the US, Brazil and Singapore. According to Reuters…

A series of the meetings under the Cooperative Mechanism on Safety of Navigation and Environmental Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore have been held in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia this week (2-6 October 2017). Safety of navigation, including e-navigation, and marine environmental protection in one of the busiest waterways were on the agenda of the meetings, attended by representatives of the littoral States (Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore), user States and other stakeholders. IMO’s Hiro Yamada participated in the 10th Co-operation Forum (CF10), the 10th Project Coordination Committee (PCC10) and the 42nd Tripartite Technical Experts Group (TTEG42) meetings.

According to PGI’s Risk Portal, there were at least 81 incidents of piracy or attempted piracy in or around the Singapore and Malacca Straits between April 2015 and April 2016. The majority of these incidents have occurred on the western approach to the narrow waterway, indicative of the heightened risk of piracy in surrounding waters. The actual number of incidents is likely higher, given that many are thought to go unreported. The high-level of piracy in surrounding waters presents security considerations for travel to and from Singapore’s port. Protection Vessels International Comment: Levels of piracy in the Singapore Strait region have continued to increase since 2015 with a spike of attacks on vessels while underway.

InterMoor completed its involvement in the Shell Malikai Tension Leg Platform (TLP) float-off operations. The TLP was loaded onto the Dockwise Heavy Lift Vessel White Marlin at Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering (MMHE) shipyard in Pasir Gudang, Malaysia, and transported to a float-off location in the Singapore Straits. Contracted by TMJV, a joint venture between Technip and MMHE Shipyard, InterMoor Pte was responsible for the marine aspects of the float-off and tow of Shell’s…

The surge of piracy in South-East Asia waters continues as ships passing the Straits of Malacca and Singapore are falling victim to acts of piracy, says Clyde & Co. Whilst Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia operate anti-piracy patrols in the area, it has limited resources. The sheltered coast and islands also makes it easier for robbers to operate. As piracy rampages on, Indonesia and Malaysia has taken efforts to jointly increase security. By far, the most significant incident suggests activities going beyond the usual act of armed robbery or theft on board ship. On 11 June 2015, eight men armed with pistols and machetes boarded the Orkim Harmony a Malaysian registered tanker whilst it was nearing the end of her voyage.

An increase of incidents of piracy and armed robbery in SouthEast Asia has prompted Malaysian and Indonesian law enforcement to form a joint rapid deployment team in response, says a report in Reuters. According to reports, the joint force will deploy three helicopters to secure the Strait of Malacca, two of which will be supplied by Indonesia and one of which will be supplied by Malaysia. First Admiral Maritime Zulkifili bin Abu Bakar, director of maritime matters in the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA)'s crime investigations department told Reuters that they would deploy a helicopter-equipped special task and rescue (STAR) team at Johor Bahru. He added that Malaysian and Indonesian navies would form a similar rapid reaction force in the area.

Southeast Asia is likely to see a record number of ship hijackings in 2015 as demand for illicit oil, together with a well-established black market, will continue to drive maritime attacks in the region, advises private maritime security company PVI. In the absence of a stronger law enforcement response, ship owners and operators, especially for small tankers, face increasing operational, financial and security threats, warns PVI. Singapore-flagged Joaquim became the latest victim of small tanker hijackings on August 8…

Sea Security Group has warned commercial ships passing through the Malacca and Singapore straits to be alert for possible theft by local people and pirates while traversing Asia's busiest straits, says a report in Jakarta Post. Based on information from seafarers, the straits were vulnerable to theft by locals using pancung (small wooden boats). According to intelligence data, from January to February there were 17 reports of theft using pancung filed by commercial ships moored or sailing in the area, he said. The commander said the Navy was stepping up patrols to catch the pirates. The high rate, according to Rasyid, was of concern of the Navy leader who had ordered Guskamla Armabar to act quickly and to strengthen patrols on the Malacca Strait and its surroundings.

Qatargas say that their chartered LNG ships carried out the first ever transfer operation between two Q-Flex type ships following an incident involving one of the ships while transiting the Singapore straits. Whilst there were no reported injuries to personnel or impact on the environment, the incident did result in minor damage to the vessel. Reinforcing Qatargas’ paramount commitment to the safety of people and the protection of the environment the company says that rigorous planning…

BMT Nigel Gee (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd., announced its latest contract with Singapore-based Penguin Shipyard International Pte. Ltd., for the design of three 38-meter monohull high-speed passenger ferries for the busy Singapore-Indonesia ferry route. The shipbuilding subsidiary of Singapore-listed crewboat specialist Penguin International Limited recently signed a contract with Horizon Ferries Pte. Ltd. to build the three 238-passenger ferries, which will be deployed to run between Singapore and the Indonesian island of Batam.

Tidetech and NAPA have agreed the supply of tidal current prediction data for ship optimisation fuel saving, initially for South East Asia and UK–Europe. Tidetech applies the science of oceanography to create data models that benefit commercial shipping – cruise ships, ferries, container ships, tankers – and offshore operations. Following a successful three-month trial aboard a 8,530DWT cruise ship – using Tidetech’s Singapore and Malacca Straits models – the agreement includes developing an expanded data model to cover the vessel’s full operating area of Phuket…

Grave concerns on safe navigation through Straits of Malacca and Singapore. The Malacca and Singapore Straits is a strategic gateway in world trade and one of the world’s busiest waterways. On any given day, over 140 ships – such very large oil tankers, container ships, bulk carriers and cruise liners, ply through the Straits; not forgetting the smaller crafts like passenger ferries, tugs and barges making frequent cross-Straits voyages in the littoral states of Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. During the past week, acrid haze originating from forest fires in Sumatra, Indonesia has blanketed the region, including the southern Straits, southern peninsular Malaysia and the island of Singapore.

U.K. maritime intelligence provider Dryad Maritime are to release a specialist report, ‘Special Advisory Southeast Asia: Disorganized theft to organized crime,’ which will focus on the rise of targeted hijackings in Southeast Asia. The advisory to be released on March 18, 2013 provides an overview of the security situation and the increased threat from maritime crime in the region. Risk analysis of these incidents has shown that the hijack of merchant vessels does not follow the…

In the past 7-days the following attacks were noted by the International Chamber of Commerce, Commercial Crimes Services. Two robbers armed with long knives boarded an anchored bulk carrier via the anchor chain. Duty crew noticed the robbers and raised the alarm. All crew mustered and rushed to the forecastle. On seeing the crew alertness, the robbers escaped empty handed in their speed boat. About six robbers in a speed boat approached and boarded a barge under two, stole barge properties and escaped. Later the same evening a speedboat with five persons wearing camouflage uniforms approached the tug. Two of the persons boarded the tug and took hostage the duty bosun and held him face down at knife point. Seeing the boarding the Master raised the alarm and all crew mustered.

ICS expresses concern at Singapore meeting about the lack of new large scale navigational charts in Straits of Malacca & Singapore. The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents 80% of the world merchant fleet, has welcomed the outcome of an important meeting between governments to advance navigational safety in the strategically vital Malacca and Singapore Straits, where there are about 70,000 transits by ships each year. During a recent meeting in Singapore, of the ‘Co-operative Mechanism on Safety of Navigation and Environmental Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore’ (which involves the littoral states of Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia), ICS expressed concern about the continuing lack of new large scale navigational charts.

ICS Welcomes Progress by Governments to help improve Navigational safety in Malacca/Singapore Straits. The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents 80% of the world merchant fleet, has welcomed the outcome of an important meeting between governments to advance navigational safety in the strategically vital Malacca and Singapore Straits, where there are about 70,000 transits by ships each year. During a meeting last week in Singapore, of the ‘Co-operative Mechanism…

A new high-resolution tidal model for the Malacca and Singapore Straits will potentially save ships thousands of dollars in bunker fuel costs. Simulations have shown that transit time savings of between three and 12 per cent can be made depending on vessel type, speed and tidal phase. The high-resolution (up to 800m) Malacca and Singapore Straits commercial tidal model, developed by applied oceanography specialist Tidetech, is the first of its kind in this region and addresses one of the major needs of the 60…

Navigation safety and environmental protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore could further improve following a detailed investigation into accident reports by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). ICS (as part of a wider initiative being undertaken by the Round Table of international shipping associations) has conducted a survey of incident reports which it is anticipated will result in the development of agreed proposals to enhance the management of traffic in the Straits. With more than 70,000 vessels each year (over 150 a day) transiting this strategically important international waterway, ICS believes it is imperative that safety continues to be prioritised.

A highly audible protest from the shipping industry against piracy – with a 30-second blast from ships’ sirens every day at noon, in every port in the world – has been recommended to draw public attention to the criminals who are now menacing world trade, and who are holding nearly 800 seafarers captive. Delivering the keynote address at this week’s Singapore conference of the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against ships in Asia (ReCAAP),…