Asian Fuel Siphoning on the Rise

BY Wendy Laursen 2015-01-10 02:55:23

Siphoning of ship fuel is not a new trend, but the frequency of incidents has escalated. 15 incidents of siphoning of ship fuel or oil were reported on board tankers in Asia in 2014, of which 12 were successful. A new ReCAAP ISC report says the attacks have a number of common characteristics including minimal violence against the crew.

The report provides an update to the Special Report on ‘Incidents of siphoning of ship fuel/oil at Sea in Asia’ dated 24 July 2014 and focuses on the method of operation of the perpetrators including the involvement of syndicates and organized groups.

In most cases, the perpetrators were interested in the manifest of fuel or oil on board the vessel and had no intention of hijacking the vessel or kidnaping the crew.

Once on boarding the vessel, they tied the crew and locked them in cabins then steered the vessel to another location to conduct the siphoning onto another vessel which would come alongside. After completion of the siphoning, the perpetrators destroyed the vessel’s communication and navigation equipment, stole the crew’s cash and personal belongings and then left the vessel. The crew was not harmed, and there was no reports of violence involved.

Of the 12 incidents, seven involved tankers of less than 2,000gt. All boardings occurred during hours of darkness with nine boardings taking place between 20:00-23:45 hours, two between 00:55-02:05 hours and one at 06:00 hours.

Of the nine incidents with reports on the duration the perpetrators remained on board the vessels, six incidents involved the perpetrators onboard the vessels for an estimated 6-10 hours and two incidents for an estimated 4-5 hours. However, in the incident involving Srikandi 515, the owner lost the tanker for 49 days (9 Oct to 27 Nov). Investigation is ongoing as to what happened to the vessel during this period.

Six incidents involved 8-10 perpetrators, three involved 5-7 perpetrators, one involved 16 perpetrators and two involved 25-26 perpetrators. In most cases they were armed with knives and firearms. The crew were not injured in most of the incidents except for minor injury sustained by the crew in two incidents; namely onboard Sri Phangnga and Sunrise 689. Notably, there were no reports of firearms being discharged.

In most of the incidents, the crew was tied and locked in the mess room or engine control room. Then the perpetrators steered the vessel to the South China Sea to carry out the siphoning.

The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) is the first regional government-to-government agreement to promote and enhance cooperation against piracy and armed robbery in Asia. The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) was established to exchange information among contracting parties on incidents of piracy and armed robbery.

The full report is available here.

Source: Maritime Executive