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IFC RELEASABLE TO MARITIME INDUSTRY

INFORMATION FUSION CENTRE


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
30 Apr 15

INFORMATION FUSION CENTRE


MARSEC WEEKLY REPORT
18 - 24 Apr 15

Figure 1: Location of Incidents in IFC Area of Interest

For the period from 18 24 Apr 15, IFC received information as follows:
Piracy / Sea Robbery / Sea Theft

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated


Fishing (IUU) Fishing

Irregular Human Migration

Weapons Trafficking

Maritime Incident

Contraband Trafficking

Natural Event

Maritime Terrorism

Note: 1 IUU Fishing Incident, 1 Contraband Trafficking Incident, 2 Maritime Incidents and 1 Piracy/Sea
Robbery/Sea Theft Incident were reported out of the reporting period.

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IFC RELEASABLE TO MARITIME INDUSTRY


OVERVIEW OF INCIDENTS
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing
21 Apr - Fishermen Arrested/
Events reported outside of the period:
Rameswaram/ Sri Lanka
13 Apr - Illegal Fishing/ Capiz/
Details: Sri Lankan authority arrested 56
Philippines
fishermen and seized their fishing boats
for illegal fishing, off the waters of
Details: The Philippines authority arrested
Rameswaram.
21 fishermen and seized seven motor
bancas for illegal fishing, off the waters of
24 Apr - 17 Fishermen Arrested/ Panay/
Capiz.
Philippines
Details: The Philippines authority arrested
17 fishermen for illegal fishing, off the
waters of Panay.
Maritime Incidents
18 Apr - Two Chinese Tourists Rescued/
Koh Larn Island/ Thailand

operators, were recused in the Chao


Phraya River.

Details: Two Chinese tourists, who were


drifting at sea for five hours, were rescued
by passing fishermen, after their jet-ski
sank off the waters of Koh Larn Island,
Pattaya.

24 Apr - Collision/ West Singapore


Strait/ Singapore

18 Apr - Grounded Yacht Extracted/


Coron/ Philippines

Details: A collision happened between a


Chemical Tanker and a wooden barge at
position 01 12.4N 103 37.4E (2.4nm SW
of Sultan Shoal Lighthouse) at 240630H
Apr 15. No oil spill and no injury reported.

Details: The Philippines Coast Guards


successfully extracted a yacht, off the
waters of Coron, Palawan. The yacht and
the crew were brought safely to Cuyo Port.

Events reported outside of the period:

19 Apr - Passengers Rescued/ Calaguas


Island/ Philippines

Details: A missing seafarer, who was


suspected for the murder of two crew of a
cargo vessel, was found dead off the
waters of Tawi Tawi.

Details: The Philippines Coast Guard


rescued 11 passengers from a motor banca,
off the waters of Calaguas Island.
22 Apr Crew Rescued from Stranded
Cargo Ship /Chao Phraya River/
Thailand
Details: 12 crew members on a stranded
cargo ship, whose owner abandoned them
because he was indebted to several fishery

14 Apr - Seafarer Found Dead/ Tawi


Tawi/ Philippines

16 Apr - Fisherman Rescued/ South


China Sea
Details: An injured Vietnamese fisherman
was rescued by the Vietnamese Authority,
after his vessel collided with an
unidentified vessel in the South China Sea.

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IFC RELEASABLE TO MARITIME INDUSTRY


Piracy/Sea Robbery/Sea Theft
18 Apr - Attempted Sea Theft/ Phillip
Channel/ Indonesia
Details: IFC received information of an
attempted sea theft incident that occurred
on board a products tanker at 01 07.52N
103 45.54E (2.3 nm southwest of Raffles
Lighthouse) on 180445H Apr 15. The
crew sighted one perpetrator and raised the
ship alarm, which prompted the perpetrator
to jump overboard. Nothing was stolen and
the crew was safe.
20 Apr- Attempted Sea Theft/ 4.5nm
South of Pulau Nipa/ Indonesia
Details: IFC received information of an
attempted sea theft incident that occurred
on board an Oil Tanker at 01 04.0N 103
40.0E (4.5nm south of Pulau Nipa) on
200410H Apr 15. The crew sighted four
perpetrators in their engine room and
sounded the security alarm, which
prompted the perpetrators to escape.
Nothing was stolen and the crew was safe.
20 Apr- Sea Robbery/ South China Sea
Details: IFC received information of a sea
robbery that happened on board a bulk
carrier at position 03 36.63N 104 18.43E
(South China Sea) on 202230H Apr 15.
The perpetrator armed with knives boarded
the vessel while underway and subdued all
the 13 crew members. They stole cash,
property and document before fleeing.
Incident was reported to the Vietnam
Maritime Security Centre.
22 Apr- Attempted Sea Theft/5nm NE
of Tanjung Sengkuang/Indonesia
Details: IFC received information of an
attempted sea theft incident that occurred
on board a bulk carrier at position 01
15.30N 104 10.30E (5nm Northeast of
Tanjung Sengkuang) on 220345H Apr 15.
The captain reported that five perpetrators

were sighted in the engine room. Ship's


security alarm was raised and a search was
conducted. No perpetrators were found.
No injury was reported and nothing was
reported stolen.
23 Apr- Attempted Sea Theft/ 6NM
South of Tanjung Ayam/ Malaysia
Details: IFC received information of an
attempted sea theft incident that occurred
on board a Products Tanker at 01 16.85N,
104 11.38E (6nm South of Tanjung
Ayam). Ship's security alarm was raised
and a search was conducted. No
perpetrators were found. No injury was
reported and nothing was reported stolen.
24 Apr - Sea Robbery/ Chittagong
Outer Anchorage/ Bangladesh
Details: IFC received information of a sea
robbery incident that occurred on board a
Chemical/Products Tanker at Chittagong
Outer Anchorage on 240450LT Apr 15.
Three perpetrators armed with long knives
boarded the vessel at the poop deck. Alarm
was raised and the perpetrators escaped
with ropes, taken from the store.
Events reported outside of the period:
03 Apr - Sea Theft/ Vung Tau
Anchorage/ Vietnam
Details:
IFC received information
from ReCAAP that a sea theft had
occurred on board a Container Ship at 10
07.4N 107 05.9E (Vung Tau Anchorage,
Vietnam) on 030800LT Apr 15. While at
anchor, the second engineer spotted five
perpetrators and the alarm was raised. The
perpetrators escaped upon hearing the
alarm. A search was conducted and the
lock to the steering gear room was broken
and ship stores were stolen from the paint
store. No injury to crew.

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IFC RELEASABLE TO MARITIME INDUSTRY


Comment: These incidents are deemed
opportunistic in nature. These perpetrators
though armed prefer not exerting violence
unless desperate and forced into
confrontation with the crew. They will
most of the time flee once discovered.

Nevertheless, vessels are strongly advised


to enhance vigilance and adapt selfprotection measures to ensure the safety of
the ship, stores and personal belongings.

Natural Event
20 Apr - Earthquake/South Western Ryukyu Islands/Japan
Details: 6.6 magnitude earthquake jolted off South Western parts of Ryukyu Islands in Japan
but no tsunami alert was called.
Irregular Human Migration
21 Apr - Illegal Immigrants Arrested/Bandar Penawar/Malaysia
Details: Marine police nabbed 11 illegal immigrants in Bandar Penawar. The operation was
carried out by Region Two Marine Police Force and the Enforcement team from the Marine
Police.
Contraband Trafficking
18 Apr - Customs Seized African
Elephant Tusks/Bangkok/Thailand

Philippines islands. 2 men and their boats


were detained for further investigation.

Details: Four tonnes of African elephant


ivory was seized in a container at Bangkok
port. The 739 pieces of tusk were found
stashed in a container shipped from the
Democratic Republic of Congo.

22 Apr - Cigarette Smuggling Foiled/


Batu Pahat/ Malaysia

18 Apr - Rice Smuggling/Zamboanga


City Port/Philippines
Details: A joint inspection team from the
Philippines Coast Guard and Bureau of
Customs in Zamboanga confiscated 60
sacks of smuggled rice at Zamboanga City
Port.
21 Apr - Smuggling Attempt Foiled/
Semporna/ Malaysia

Details:
The
Malaysian
Maritime
Enforcement Agency (MMEA) foiled an
attempt to smuggle 880 cartons of
cigarettes off the waters off Batu Pahat.
24 Apr - MMEA Foils Attempt To
Smuggle Logs/ Kuching/ Malaysia
Details: An attempt to smuggle timber
logs was foiled by the Malaysian Maritime
Enforcement Agency (MMEA) in Tanjung
Maura Tebas, Kuching.

Details: The Malaysian Marine police


foiled two attempts to smuggle out a total
of about 660 litres of diesel to a
neighbouring country. It is believed the
diesel was being smuggled to the
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IFC RELEASABLE TO MARITIME INDUSTRY

Events reported outside of the period:


15 Apr- Contraband Trafficking/ North
Sumatra/ Indonesia
Details: The North Sumatra Police had
foiled an attempt to smuggle ten kilograms
of
crystal methamphetamine from
Malaysia and arrested three traffickers, off
the waters of Pagurawan, North Sumatra.
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.

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)
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IFC RELEASABLE TO MARITIME INDUSTRY

Fax :

+65 6594 5728 (Office)


+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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