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 22 Oct 14 INFORMATION FUSION CENTRE MARSEC WEEKLY REPORT 14 Oct 20 Oct 14 For the period from 14 to 20 Oct 14, IFC received information on the following: Events Categories Number of Incidents Registered* Contraband Trafficking 8 Irregular Human Migration 4 Irregular, Unlawful, & Unregulated Fishing 1 Maritime Incidents 6 Natural Events 1 Piracy / Sea Robbery / Sea Theft 10 Weapons Trafficking - Maritime Terrorism - * 5 Contraband Trafficking Incidents, 2 Irregular Human Migration, 3 Piracy/Sea Robbery/Sea Theft, 1 Irregular, Unlawful & Unregulated Fishing Incident, 2 Maritime incident occurred out of the period of 14 Oct to 20 Oct 14. Legend Contraband Trafficking Irregular Human Migration Irregular, Unlawful & Unregulated Fishing Maritime Incidents Natural Events Piracy / Sea Robbery / Sea Theft Weapons Trafficking Maritime Terrorism 6b Figure 1: Location of Incidents
OVERVIEW OF INCIDENTS Contraband Trafficking 16 Oct 14 Seizure of 3.35 kg of TNT Explosive / Mandativu / Sir Lanka Detail: Sri Lanka Navy found 3.35 kg TNT explosive in the general area of Mandativu. 17 Oct 14 Seizure of Ammonium Nitrate / Waters off Tawau Port / Malaysia Detail: About 4,250kg of ammonium nitrate fertiliser were seized on board a wooden boat off the waters of Tawau Port. A sailor was arrested and his boat detained. Comment: Illegal activities are expected to be curbed in this area given on-going security measures enforced by ESSCOM. 17 Oct 14 Smuggling of Diesel / Waters off Semporna / East Malaysia Detail: A total of 26 jerry cans containing 650 litres of petrol were seized on board a pump boat off the waters of Ambo Ambo. 1 Filipino crew was arrested and his ship detained by Malaysian authorities for further investigation. Comment: Illegal activities are expected to be curbed in this area given on-going security measures enforced by ESSCOM. Detail: 2,900 sacks of 50 kg rice had been confiscated at the Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT). The sacks came from Vietnam without proper documentation. 12 Oct 14 1.40 Lakh Vaba Tablets seized / Cox s Bazar / Bangladesh Detail: Bangladesh authorities seized 1.40 lakh of yaba tablets in Teknaf upazila of Cox s Bazar. No one was detained in this connection. The group of smugglers was smuggling tablets into the country from Myanmar using a small boat. 13 Oct 14 Smuggling of Cannabis / Nawakkadu / Sri Lanka Detail: Sri Lanka Navy arrested 2 persons for possession of 1.5 kg of cannabis (Kerala Ganja) in the general area of Nawakkadu. 13 Oct 14 Seize Smuggling Guns / Cebu / Philippines Detail: - A scout ranger was arrested by the local police for trying to smuggle unlicensed firearms. The firearms were discovered during a bag inspection when the ranger tried to smuggle them on board a ferry. 24 Aug 14 Smuggling of Garlic / Tagoloan / Philippines Detail: Some 200,000 kg (200 metric tons) of garlic had been confiscated at the Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) in Tagoloan without proper documentation. 4 Sep 14 Smuggling of Rice / Tagoloan / Philippines Irregular Human Migration
14 Oct 2014 5 Illegal Immigrants Drowned / Johor Baru / Malaysia Detail: 5 illegal immigrants drowned when their boat was capsized in the waters off Bandar Penawar. The incident happened in the early morning when the three-engine boat sunk. It was believed to be traveling out of Malaysia towards Batam, Indonesia. The incident resulted in 2 women and 3 men drowned while 36 others survived. Comment: This area is observed to be a hot spot for illegal immigrants to escape. 15 Oct 2014 29 Migrants Found / Kota Tinggi / Malaysia Detail: 29 illegal immigrants were arrested while hiding in the woods near the beach. The authorities arrested several illegal immigrants before they were being informed that the boat that the group had boarded sank while en-route to Batam, Indonesia. Bodies of 2 women and 1 man were found on nearby beaches. The rest of the illegal immigrants were detained for further investigations. Comment: This area is observed to be a hot spot for illegal immigrants to escape. 23 Sep 14 Singapore man accused of trafficking fishermen / Philippines Detail: 1 Singaporean believed to recruit 10 Filipino men to work as fishermen on Taiwanese fishing vessels was arrested. These men were given low pay and forced to work under poor working condition. 13 Oct 14 Police found 130 migrants / Phang Nga / Thailand Detail: Thai police found sick and exhausted boat people hiding on a remote island in Thailand. They were from Bangladesh. The discovery brings to more than 130 found between the 11 to 13 Oct in the province of Phang Nga. Piracy/ Sea Robbery/ Sea Theft 14 Oct 14 - Attempted Sea Theft / Waters off Bintan Island (SCS) / Indonesia Detail: On 140215LT Oct 14, 5 perpetrators were spotted by the crew in the engine room of a Marshall Island flagged bulk carrier. The vessel was anchored at position 01 28.4N 104 37.7E. The alarm was raised and ship crew mustered. Upon hearing the alarm, the perpetrators left the vessel. Nothing was stolen. Crew was safe. Incident awaiting verification by company. 14 Oct 14 Sea Theft / SW Sultan Shoal Lighthouse 2.8nm / Malaysia Detail: On 140915LT Oct 14 at position 01 12.18 N 103 34.24 E, 6 sampans came alongside a barge loaded with scrap metal that was towed by a Malaysia flagged tugboat. 9 perpetrators boarded the barge and took away scrap metal before leaving the area. Local authorities were informed. Comments: Thanks to information sharing between Malaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian authorities, 4 perpetrators were arrested and their two sampans detained by Malaysian authorities 14 Oct 14 Attempted Sea Theft / Bay of Jakarta / Indonesia Detail: On 140045LT Oct 14, 5 perpetrators in a wooden boat approached and boarded a Singapore flagged tanker at anchorage off Jakarta at position 05 57S 106 46E. The officer of the watch raised the alarm and the perpetrators escaped empty-handed in their boat upon hearing the alarm. Incident awaiting verification by company. 15 Oct 14 Sea Theft/ Chittagong Lightering Anchorage /Bangladesh 3
Detail: On 150030LT Oct 14, at position 21 46.2N 09 147.7E (Chittagong Anchorage), duty crew was confronted by 2 robbers on board an anchored Maltaflagged bulk carrier. He informed the officer of the watch who raised the alarm. The robbers escaped in their boats with some stolen provisions. Local Coastguard and vessels in the vicinity were notified. The duty crew suffered from a minor head injury. Incident awaiting verification by company. 15 Oct 14 Gunmen attacked on fishing boat / East of Pulau Banggi (Sabah) / Sulu Sea Detail: On 150900LT Oct 14, Vietnamese fishermen were attacked by masked people on board a speedboat while they were at about 22nm North East of Pula Banggi (Malaysia). The perpetrators opened fire at the vessel. Two fishermen were injured and transported to hospital. Comments: This is the third incident that occurs in this area this year. Reasons behind the incident are still unclear. Investigations are on-going. Ships sailing in the area are advised to be careful and to report any suspicious activities. 16 Oct 14 Sea Robbery (Oil Siphoning) / Off Bintan Island (SCS) / Indonesia Detail: On 160133LT Oct 14, the company of a Thailand flagged Vessel received a SSAS alert from the ship which was in vicinity of position 01 35.08N 104 31.99E (off Bintan Island, Indonesia). It was reported that the vessel was hijacked and that the perpetrators siphoned the cargo to a larger vessel before releasing the vessel. All crew are safe. Incident verified by company. Comments: Investigations are in progress to determine what exactly happened to the vessel and how the cargo was stolen. 19 Oct 14 Sea Theft/ West of Pulau Nipa (West Singapore Strait) / Indonesia Detail: On 190530LT Oct 14 at position 01 10.1N 103 32.6E, a Panama flagged LNG tanker was boarded by 2 perpetrators. Alarm was raised which led the perpetrators to leave the vessel. Crew members and vessel were safe and unharmed. A few spare parts were found missing from the engine room store. Incident verified by company. Comments: This area has begun to show an increased incidence of sea robbery. Perpetrators in this area are expected to going after the crew s personal valuable belongings and movable objects. 8 Oct 2014 Sea Robbery/ West of Kutubdia Island / Bangladesh Detail: On 082340LT Oct 14, 12 armed perpetrators boarded an anchored Liberiaflagged Bulk Carrier in position 02 47N 09 14.6E, around 3NM west of Kutubdia Island. Ship's alarm was raised, all crew mustered and port control was notified. Seeing the crew alertness, the robbers escaped with stolen ship's properties. Incident awaiting verification by company 11 Oct 14 Sea Robbery / Ho Chi Minh City / Vietnam Detail: On 110400LT Oct 14, 3 perpetrators boarded a Hong Kong flagged bulk carrier in an anchorage off Ho Chi Minh City. The perpetrators took a cadet in hostage before escaping with stolen ship's stores upon hearing the alarm. The cadet suffered injuries. Incident awaiting verification by company 12 Oct 14 Sea Robbery / Taboneo Anchorage / Indonesia Detail: On 120245LT Oct 14, 3 armed perpetrators boarded a Bahamas flagged 4
bulk carrier at anchorage in Taboneo, off Banjarmasin at position, 03 42S 114 25E. The perpetrators stole ship's stores and Irregular, Unlawful & Unregulated Fishing 11 Oct 2014 1 fisherman arrested / Valachchenai / Sri Lanka properties and escaped in their boats. Incident awaiting verification by company Detail: Items such as plastic tubes containing Gelignite gel (approximate in 3.5 kg), 1.5 feet of safety fuse and 05 non-electrical used for illegal fishing activities were seized by Sri Lanka Navy in Valachchenai. 1 man was arrested. Maritime Incident 14 Oct 14 Ship sink / Sungai Tengah / Malaysia Detail: 4 Indonesians were found dead while 38 others survived after their ship sank in the waters of Sungai Tengah. The ship was sailing from Sungai Tengah to Batam Island (Indonesia). She sank after being hit by huge waves. Comment: The first incident reportedly occurred in the area. 14 Oct 14 Container ship stranded / Pulau Sebarok / Singapore Detail: A Panama-flagged container vessel while en-route from Singapore to Port Klang was stranded in the Jong fairway near Monggok Sebarok reef (Position: 01 12N 103 48E). The ship was moved to Raffles Reserve anchorage for inspection. No injury. No oil spill. 16 Oct 14 Boat collision / Kien Giang / Vietnam Detail: A junk collided with a Vietnamese fishing boat about 6 nm southwest of Ha Tien, Vietnam. 3 Cambodians aboard the junk, including a man and two women, fell into the sea. Crew members of the Vietnamese boat tried to rescue the Cambodians but they could save only the man and the 2 women were still missing. Detail: A passenger speedboat collided with a tailboat off Phuket, killing two South Korean tourists. In addition, 14 Chinese tourists suffered minor injuries. Comment: Currently, 2 were missing and the police and navy were still searching for them. The cause of this incident was the due to navigation error and the incident is being investigated by the police 11 Oct 14 Collision / Waters off Vung Tau / Vietnam Details: On 11 Oct, a Vietnamese fishing boat collided with a Malaysian-registered cargo barge. The fishing boat captain was reported missing. Border Guard Ship with assistance of nearby fishing boat brought the Malaysian-registered cargo barge to Vung Tau port for further investigations. 11 Oct 14 Fishing vessel made distress signal / Da Nang / Vietnam Detail: A Vietnamese fishing vessel suffered an engine failure and had to anchor about 15 nm off Da Nang. The vessel was rescued and towed safely to the port by local authority. 19 Oct 14 Thai vessels collided / Phi Phi Island / Thailand 5
Natural Event 16 Oct 14 Earthquake / Seram Bagian / Indonesia Detail: An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale shook Seram Bagian Barat district in Maluku province at dawn on 16 Oct but it caused no material damage. The epicenter of the quake which struck at 03.32 a.m. local time in the Seram Sea 82 km southwest of the provincial capital Ambon at a depth of 10 km, according to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). IFC Advises: Recommendations 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. Note: Shippers should remain vigilant especially in areas where the threat level is assessed to be above one in accordance with the IFC Spot Commentary 1/14 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 : Tel : IFC_DO@defence.gov.sg or ifc_do@infofusioncentre.gov.sg +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. 6