A recent spate of armed robberies has struck the Singapore Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, with four incidents reported in a single week, according to ReCAAP (Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia).

The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre’s weekly report (April 29 – May 5) confirmed that four incidents took place at night in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme near Cula Island.

The targeted vessels were the general cargo ship Perias (April 29), chemical tanker SMA and tanker Culture (May 2), and bulk carrier SW Legend (May 5). In the case of SMA, engine spare parts were stolen, while no losses were reported aboard Culture and SW Legend. The Perias incident was classified as an attempted robbery.

These cases bring the total number of reported armed robbery incidents in the Singapore and Malacca Straits to 47 so far this year.

ReCAAP has renewed its call for coastal states to step up enforcement in the area and urged shipowners and operators to maintain heightened vigilance.