SINGAPORE – The number of piracy and armed robbery cases in the straits of Malacca and Singapore in the first half of 2025 was four times that for the same period in the previous year.

There were 80 such incidents reported between January and June 2025 to the anti-piracy group, ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC).

There were 21 incidents reported in the same period in 2024, it said in a press release on July 10.

In Asia as a whole, there was an 83 per cent rise in such incidents, with 95 reported between January and June 2025, compared with 52 reported in 2024.

ReCAAP, or the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia, entered into force in 2006.

While the numbers in Asia have gone up, the incidents are of lower severity than those that occur in other parts of the world, said ReCAAP ISC’s executive director Vijay D. Chafekar at a media briefing in York Hotel Singapore on July 10.

He noted that there has not been a serious piracy case in the high seas in Asia in the last four to five years, and that other parts of the world, like the Gulf of Guinea, experience crimes like the kidnapping of crew for ransom.

“What we see is that while most of the Asian waters have become safe, the concerns are localised in a very small area of the straits of Malacca and Singapore.

“In most cases, the crew is not harmed. The intention is not to harm the crew, but to (commit) petty thefts,” said Mr Chafekar.

“It does not mean that it is not a concern. It is still a concern. A knife-wielding person on board (will cause) a huge psychological impact on the crew of the ship,” he added.

According to ReCAAP ISC’s half-yearly report, none of the 80 incidents reported in the straits of Malacca and Singapore were classified as Category 1 incidents.

Incidents in this category are described as very significant and defined to be those where the perpetrators are mostly armed with guns or knives, and where the crew is likely to have been subjected to physical violence or suffered some form of injury.

There were seven “moderately significant” incidents classified under Category 2, where the perpetrators carried gun-like objects and knives.

Six of these incidents occurred on board bulk carriers and one occurred on a container ship.

In one incident, a crew member suffered a minor head injury, but no medical assistance was required. In four of them, the perpetrators restrained crew members.

Of the seven Category 2 incidents, four involved items stolen from the crew and ship, including a mobile phone, gold necklace, engine spares and generator spares.

The rest of the 80 incidents in the first half of 2025 were deemed to be less or least significant, or were situations where the perpetrators tried and failed to board the ship.

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On July 10, ReCAAP ISC held a dialogue with representatives from the shipping industry to discuss the latest situation for armed robbery against ships in the straits of Malacca and Singapore.

Shipping companies suggested that ships at sea should have the practice of looking out for one another, ReCAAP ISC deputy director Lee Yin Mui told the media.

A positive example of such a practice was shared during the dialogue: A ship informed the vessel ahead of it that a few small boats were spotted in the vicinity approaching it.

Singapore’s Vessel Traffic Information System was also activated and allowed other ships in the vicinity to be informed of the presence of those small boats.

“That prevented an unauthorised boarding,” said Ms Lee.

“This is one of the good measures that has been taken by the shipping industry, to look out for one another and also to report sighting of small boats in the area, especially during hours of darkness.

“These small boats... they are really not easily visible during late, dark hours, and before you know it, (the perpetrators) have already boarded the ship.”