(www.MaritimeCyprus.com) The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) has released its statistics on piracy and sea robbery in Asia for January-September this year.
total of 62 incidents of armed robbery against ships1 (59 actual and three attempted) were reported in Asia during January-September 2022. No piracy incident was reported.
This accounts for a 13% increase in the number of incidents compared to January-September 2021. A total of 55 incidents (comprising 52 actual and three attempted incidents) were reported during January-September 2021.
Areas of Concern
- Increase of incidents in SS: A total of 41 incidents were reported in the SS during January-September 2022. This accounts for 66% of the total number of 62 incidents in Asia. Compared to January-September 2021, there was an increase of 14 incidents in the SS for the same period in 2022.
- Threat of abduction of crew for ransom in Sulu-Celebes Seas: Although no incident of abduction of the crew was reported in the Sulu-Celebes Seas during January September 2022, the threat of abduction of crew for ransom in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi remains due to the presence of the remnants of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the areas. However, with the improvement of the situation, the Philippine Coast Guard recommended downgrading the threat assessment level to MODERATE.
Piracy vs armed robbery against ships
All 62 incidents reported in Asia during January-September 2022 were incidents of armed robbery against ships. There was no incident of piracy. Piracy takes place on the high seas while armed robbery against ships takes place in internal waters, archipelagic waters and territorial seas which are under the jurisdiction of the coastal States.
The majority of the incidents reported in Asia are armed robbery against ships. The data of 16-year period of January-September of 2007-2022, indicates that the number of piracy incidents fluctuated each year, with an average of 11% for piracy incidents and 89% for armed robbery against ships.
For more details, click below to download the full RECAAP 3Q 2022 Maritime Piracy and Armed Robbery report:
Source: RECAAP
