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INFORMATION FUSION CENTRE

AFPN 6504
103 Tanah Merah Coast Road, #02-01
Singapore 498750
Tel: +65 9626 8965 (Mobile)
+65 6594 5728 (Office)
Fax:
+65 6594 5734
IFC_DO@defence.gov.sg
www.infofusioncentre.gov.sg
1 Apr 15

INFORMATION FUSION CENTRE

MARSEC WEEKLY REPORT

Figure 1: Location of Incidents in IFC Area of Interest

For the period from 21 27 Mar 15, IFC received information as follows:
IUU Fishing

Piracy / Sea Robbery / Sea Theft

Irregular Human Migration

Weapons Trafficking

Maritime Incident

10

Contraband Trafficking

Natural Event

Maritime Terrorism

Note: 1 Contraband Trafficking Incidents, 4 IUU Fishing, 4 Maritime Incidents and 1 Irregular Human
Migration Incident were reported out of the reporting period.

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OVERVIEW OF INCIDENTS
Contraband Trafficking
23 Mar Alleged Coral Smuggler
Arrested/Koh Pha Ngan/Thailand

Tagoloan town in Misamis Oriental. Ship

captain failed to produce valid mining
permit and document.

Details: The Police were alerted by local

residents after they sighted three men
transporting bags from a boat to a pick-up
truck. The Police inspected the boat and
found at least 1,800 kilograms of corals
stuffed into 60 sacks.

Events reported outside of the period:

20 Mar Fishing Vessel Detained/
Maluku/Indonesia
Details: A fishing vessel was detained by
the Indonesian Navy and Marine
Resources and Fisheries Department in
Tual, Maluku. The vessel was found
transporting 24 containers containing 660
tons various types of fish without valid
documents.

24 Mar Filipino Skipper, 5 Chinese

Nabbed For Sand Mining/Misamis
Oriental Sunday/Philippines
Details: Police arrested crew together with
their vessel for illegally mining sand in

Irregular Human Migration

23 Mar - 52 Detained While Being
Trafficked To Malaysia/Bay of Bengal/
Bangladesh

Events reported outside of the period:

17 Mar - Australia Sent Back Illegal
Immigrants/Sukabumi, West
Java/Indonesia

Details: The law enforcers detained 52

persons from Dhaka, Chittagong and
Coxs Bazar allegedly being trafficked to
Malaysia via a boat in Bay of Bengal.

Details: Australia had sent back 15 illegal

immigrants from Nepal, Iran and
Bangladesh into Indonesian waters off
Sukabumi, West Java.

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing

21 Mar - Indonesia Navy Detained
Fishing
Vessel/Natuna
Islands/
Indonesia

of Vankalai and the fishing equipment

were conficated.
23 Mar - Tawau Marine Police Nabbed
Five Fishermen/Tawau/Malaysia

Details : The Indonesian Navy detained 3

fishing vessel off the waters of Natuna
Islands South China Sea. The fishing
vessls failed to show valid document.

Details: The Tawau Marine Police

arrested 5 fishermen and seized their five
boats for carrying out fishing activity
using trawling nets without licence in the
waters off Batu Payung, Tawau.

23 Mar - Navy Arrested 17 Fishermen/

Vankalai/Sri Lanka
Details: The Sri Lankan Navy arrested 17
fishermen for illegal fishing off the waters
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Events reported outside of the period:

vessel is believed to be involved in Illegal,

Unreported and Unregulated (IUU)
Fishing.

11 Mar - Cebu Fishermen Charged Of

Illegal
Fishing/Baliguian
Island/
Philippines

19 Mar - Navy Arrests 6 Persons and 2

Engaged In Illegal Fishing/Punnakudah
/Sri Lanka

Details : 8 fishermen from Bantayan

Island in Cebu have been charged of
illegal fishing after they were caught off
the coasts of Baliguian Island in
Concepcion.

Details: Sir Lankan Navy arrested 6

persons for illegal fishing off the waters of
Punnakudah.

15 Mar Vessel Suspected IUU Fishing

Was Detained By MMEA/Pengerang/
Malaysia

20 Mar - More Illegal Fishers Being

Arrested/Iloilo Provincial/ Philippines
Details: 10 Fishermen had been arrested
by the Iloilo Provincial Bantay Dagat Task
Force in Northern Iloilo.

Details: A ship has been detained by

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency
(MMEA) off the waters of Pengerang. The

Maritime Incidents
21 Mar Medical Evacuation by Indian
Coast Guard/Off Sagar Island/India

24 Mar Seamen Rescued From Ship

That Ran Aground/Van Ninh District's/
Vietnam

Details: Indian Coast Guard evacuated a

57-year-old mariner from an anchored
vessel 42 nautical miles south of Sagar
Island. The Greek national was
subsequently moved to Haldia in a
hovercraft and then shifted to a private
hospital in Kolkata for treatment.

Details: A ship containing 1,900 tonnes of

coal had run aground in a rocky shoal. The
provincial border guard army force
immediately instructed the local army
stations to carry out rescue work. All nine
seamen were rescued.

23 Mar Boat Capsized with 3

Drowned/Cauayan, Negros/Philippines

25 Mar Cargo Vessel Encountered

Engine Defect/Phu Quy Island/Vietnam

Details: Two fishermen drowned and four

others were reported missing after their
motor boat capsized off Cauayan, Negros.

Details: Passenger cargo vessel suffered

engine failure while en route from Phan
Tiet, with 73 passengers and cargo on
board. A tug or rescue boat was dispatched
to tow the vessel to Phu Quy port.

24 Mar 9 Missing After Cargo Ship

Sunk/Medan/Indonesia
Details: 9 people have been reported
missing after a cargo ship ran aground on a
shipwreck in the Belawan waters off
Medan. Five were rescued by the Medan
SAR Agency after they spent three hours
battling to stay afloat in the ocean.

26 Mar - Suspicious Approach/30 NM

East of Pulau Tioman/South China Sea
Details: On 261515H Mar 15, a tanker
reported that she was followed by 2
wooden small boats. 7-8 paxs were sighted
on board each wooden small boat at
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position: 240N 10441.7E. The vessel

increased speed and out manoeuvred the
small boat.

Details: MMEA found a body of a man

believed to have jumped from a cruise
ship.

Events reported outside of the period:

18 Mar Ship Collision in Minjiang

River/Fujian Province/China

15 Mar Fisherman Missing/Off Phu

Yen/Vietnam

Details: A cargo vessel collided with a

sand carrier off Minjiang River in the
Fujian Province. Donghai Bureau's rescue
vessel escorted the two vessels to a safe
anchorage near the Langqi Bridge.

Details: Two fishermen went missing after

their boat capsized. The Vietnam Coast
Guard deployed vessel to search for the
missing fisherman and they managed to
rescue 1 fisherman and the other believed
to be drowned.

18 Mar 4 Missing on Drifting/

Cagayan/Philippines

17 Mar Body Found/Pulau Pinang

/Malaysia

Details: Police and Coast Guard personnel

were looking for 4 persons after their
vessel went missing off Calayan, Cagayan.

Piracy/Sea Robbery/Sea Theft

21 Mar - Attempted Sea Theft / 3.9nm
NW of Batam/Indonesia

22 Mar Sea Robbery (Oil Siphoning)

/Pulau Tioman/Malaysia

Details : An attempted sea theft occurred

on board a Marshall Island flagged bulk
carrier at position: 0113.64N
10358.3E, 3.9nm NW of Batam Island,
Indonesia, on 210100H Mar 15. Alarm
was raised after the detection of unknown
people on board. No perpetrators were
found during the search and nothing was
reported missing.

Details: A sea robbery (Oil Siphoning) has

occurred on board a Vanuatu flagged
Anchor Handling Tug Supply vessel at
position 0248.6'N - 10431.3'E (13 nm
NE of Pulau Tioman, Malaysia) on
222215LT Mar 15. 200,000 litres of diesel
were siphoned and crew's personal
belonging were taken.
23 Mar Sea Theft/Chittagong
Anchorage/Chittagong

21 Mar Sea Robbery/11.3nm East of

Pulau Karimun Besar/Indonesia

Details: A sea theft occurred on board a

Container Ship at Chittagong Anchorage
on 230820LT Mar 15. The perpetrators
escaped when the alarm was raised.
Several ships stores were reported
taken. No injury reported.

Details: A sea robbery occurred on board

a Luxembourg flagged container ship at
position: 0106N - 10334E, 11.3nm East
of Pu Karimun Besar, on 210335H Mar
15. It was reported that a wrist watch and
gold chain were taken. All crew are safe
and no injuries were reported.

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23 Mar Attempted Boarding/East of

Karimun Kecil/Indonesia

Comment:
Incidents are regularly
reported in the Philips Channel and
waters off Batam, Bintan and Karimun
areas (mainly in the eastbound TSS).
Vessels are strongly advised to enhance
vigilance and adopt self-protection
measures.

Details: IFC received information from

POCC that an attempted sea theft occurred
on board a Panama flagged Container Ship
at position Lat 01 10.10N, Long 103
28.40E, 4.1nm East of Karimun Kecil on
230630H Mar 15. All crew are safe and
nothing was reported stolen.

Natural Events
25 Mar - Earthquake Rattles Phuket/Thailand
Details: An earthquake measuring 3.8 in magnitude rattled the east coast of Phuket. The
quake struck at 5:32am, with its epicenter halfway between Phuket and Koh Yao Yai islands
in Phang Nga Bay.
Recommendations
IFC Advises:
1. All mariners to report any incidents timely to the nearest coastal state and IFC at the
earliest possible time.
2. Ships moving at slow speed or choosing to remain at anchor in areas where sea
robbery/theft is regularly reported to be vigilant and to adopt necessary security measures.
3. All mariners to take note on the description of the perpetrators and to take photos of the
perpetrators if possible.
4. Shippers and Seafarers operating in Sulu Sea and in vicinity of East Sabah Waters are
strongly recommended to be vigilant and to establish contact with both Malaysian and
Philippines Authorities to report their presence.
5. Shippers are advised to take note that al-Qaeda, in its recently launched English language
online magazine Resurgence, has called for the disruption of global trade and shipping
through acts of piracy, among other tactics. Shippers are therefore advised to exercise
vigilance and to adopt self-defensive measures as stated in BMP4, especially when
transiting narrow choke points and known sea robbery/piracy hot spots.
Note: Information herein was derived from various internal and external sources
such as Focal Points, OPCENs and other maritime stakeholders. Shippers should
remain vigilant especially in areas where the threat level is assessed to be above one
in accordance with the IFC Spot Commentary 2/14 and IFC quarterly assessment
report. Ships should apply the appropriate security measures (such as BMP4 or
Tugs and Barge Guide). Ship masters should also be aware and refer to the
Maritime Security Charts Q6112 and Q6113, both published by the UK
Hydrographic Office.
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CONTACT
In case of any doubt, incident at sea, suspicious approach or unusual observed activity at sea,
please contact IFC: IFC Duty Officer:
Email :
IFC_DO@defence.gov.sg or ifc_do@infofusioncentre.gov.sg
Tel :
+65 9626 8965 (Mobile)
+65 6594 5728 (Office)
Fax :
+65 6594 5734
The IFC seeks your observations in the course of your normal business. The IFC would like
to remind mariners to be mindful of national and international laws, company and other
policy requirements and also health and safety obligations, whilst recording these
observations. The reporting of such events to IFC does not absolve you of your obligations
towards coastal/ port/ flag authorities.

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