Anti-piracy watchdog logs 94 robberies on ships in Straits of Malacca and Singapore as of July 2025
"According to the latest data from ReCAAP ISC (Information Sharing Centre), there were 111 incidents of armed robbery against ships in Asia between January and July 2025.
'Of these, 94 incidents occurred in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS area), making up 85% of the total number of incidents in Asia," said ReCAAP ISC assistant director Kwon Soon Tae at the Anti-Piracy Forum 2025 here on Wednesday (August 6).
The forum was jointly organised by the Sarawak and Sabah Shipowners Association (SSSA) and ReCAAP (Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia).
Kwon highlighted that most of these incidents involved large vessels.
'We are seeing more cases of unauthorised boarding of barges towed by tugboats, mainly to steal scrap metal."
"From January to July this year, seven incidents involving tugs and barges were reported in the SOMS area, compared to four cases during the same period in 2024," he said.
Explaining the ReCAAP, Kwon said that it is the first and only regional government-to-government agreement focused on combating piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia.
"The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre's mandate is to combat piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia. We conduct our activities through three main pillars: information sharing, capacity building, and cooperative arrangements.
"We regularly engage partners like SSSA, other shipping associations, and governmental agencies. By working together, we aim to reach out to shipowners, masters and crew, and law enforcement agencies to find ways to prevent sea robbery and related crimes," he said.
Meanwhile, state Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Henry Harry Jinep told reporters that no incidents of piracy or robbery had been reported on rivers in Sarawak.
"Our rivers are safe. We don't have piracy or robbery," he said.
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