Reasons for Continued Increase in Armed Robbery Cases Onboard Commercial Vessels in Singapore Strait
Ministry of TransportSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the increase in armed robbery cases onboard commercial vessels in the Singapore Strait and the government's efforts to address them. MP Dennis Tan Lip Fong questioned the reasons for the 55 reported incidents in 2022 and requested updates on collaborative measures taken with neighboring countries. Minister for Transport S Iswaran explained that most cases occurred outside Singapore's territorial waters and primarily involved petty thefts of engine spares and ship stores. He emphasized that Singapore works closely with Malaysia and Indonesia on coordinated patrols and participates in international cooperation through the ReCAAP agreement. Minister for Transport S Iswaran also noted the Republic of Singapore Navy’s Information Fusion Centre provides real-time information sharing to bolster regional maritime security.
Transcript
15 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Transport (a) what are the likely reasons for the continuing increase in the number of armed robbery cases onboard commercial vessels in the Singapore Strait in 2022; and (b) whether any new measures have been taken by the Government on its part or in conjunction with neighbouring countries in the past year to stem the increase of such cases or to minimise their occurrence.
Mr S Iswaran: In 2022, there were 55 reported sea robbery incidents in the Strait of Singapore, which includes the territorial waters of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. This was an increase from 49 incidents reported in 2021. Similar to previous years, most of the incidents in 2022 occurred outside Singapore’s territorial waters. Most involved petty thefts of items such as engine spares and ship stores.
As the Strait of Singapore includes the territorial waters of Malaysia and Indonesia, Singapore works closely with both countries on initiatives such as coordinated patrols and information-sharing to combat sea robberies.
Singapore has also been playing a pivotal role in international cooperation to combat piracy and sea robbery, such as through the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP). In addition, the Republic of Sinapore Navy (RSN) has hosted the Information Fusion Centre (IFC) since 2009, which shares real-time information on maritime security incidents with authorities of neighbouring countries through their deployed International Liaison Officers and other operational channels.