Seafarers are advised to exercise caution after pirates attempted to rob a vessel transiting through the Singapore Strait.
Pirates attempted to rob the cargo of a barge being towed by the Singapore-flagged Tug, Kim Hock Tug 8 during the morning hours of December the 6th while the vessel was transiting through the Strait of Singapore. The incident occurred at approximately 1132 hours, while the vessel was travelling through the Eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme of the Strait of Singapore.
The tug was mid-transit when 10 to 15 small boats came alongside the barge and boarded it, in order to attempt and steal the metal scrap cargo onboard the vessel. Thankfully, a 2nd Tug that had been operating in the area, the Singapore-flagged Kim Hock Virgo, approached the barge and managed to drive away the smaller boats.
ARX Maritime provide commercial risk management for vessels trading in high-risk areas, making sure that vessels adopt and implement the best risk management practices.
As part of this service, ARX Maritime have designed the ABaC (anti-boarding and climbing) system. An anti-piracy barrier solution that denies pirates from boarding vessels that are vulnerable to attack in areas of high risk. The ARX ABaC system is designed to repel grappling hooks and ladders, significantly increasing the chances of company vessels and crew surviving unwanted pirate aggression. The ARX ABaC system is easily installed and provides a cost-effective alternative to razor wire.
