Linking the Strait of Malacca to the South China Sea, the 113km-long Singapore Strait has been one of Asia’s focal shipping routes for centuries. Before the age of European colonialism, the strait was considered an important trading zone, as it connected the Indian Ocean to China.
Since the arrival of Europeans and the founding of Singapore in 1819, the strait has become one of the busiest in the world, with a traffic volume of around 100,000 vessels per year.
In the last couple of years, the Singapore Strait has also seen an increasing number of pirate attacks. According to data from the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP), in 2019 a total of 31 piracy incidents took place in the strait, compared to seven recorded in 2018.
The latest incidents took place between 25 and 26 October, when three ships moving through the Strait’s eastbound lane were approached by armed robbers. With these attacks, which took place within intervals of two hours, a total of six incidents were reported in October – the highest number reported in one month.
Despite attempts from Japanese and Singaporean authorities to combat piracy – the situation is worsening, with a growing number of incidents – 28 since January with the inclusion of the October attacks – causing concern for shippers in the region…
