Has South East Asia’s surge in boardings increased the threat?
Singapore Navy operations in the Singapore Strait. Image: Risk Intelligence
10 March 2025
An ‘alarming surge’ in incident numbers has not increased the threat to seafarers and their ships.
By Thomas Timlen, Analyst
Through the lens of pure statistics, a 500% increase in the number of reported vessel boardings during transits of the Singapore Strait for the period from 01 November 2024 to 28 February 2025 as compared with the same four months in 2023 and 2024 could be taken as an alarming surge creating significant consequences for the safety of seafarers and cargo ships.
Similar concerns could be triggered when it is revealed that during 2024, 57% of the world’s reported maritime security incidents affecting cargo vessels took place in the waters of South East Asia. However, the numbers alone do not adequately illustrate the nature of the crimes being committed, the level of violence involved (if there is any) or the actual consequences faced by seafarers, their ships, the cargo and the maritime environment.
While these latest statistics for the Singapore Strait attract attention, since 2019 there have been no dramatic year-on-year increases in the frequency of vessel boardings. Moreover, some degree of the variances that have been recorded could be the result of improved reporting, not actual increases in criminal activity. For the wider region, under-reporting could be a factor in the absence of incidents at some ports, anchorages and waters.
There are other factors that serve well to allay concerns. Of the 67 incidents recorded for the Singapore Strait during 2024, 36% resulted with no property stolen. While the safety and welfare of seafarers is put at risk when knife-wielding perpetrators come on board, illustrated by a violent attack in February 2025, generally only one or two violent attacks are recorded annually. This recent surge in incidents over the past 4 months has not led to a significant increase in violence used by the perpetrators.
Therefore, despite the statistic showing that 57% of the world’s vessel boardings take place in South East Asia, it is useful to bear in mind that the activity in the Singapore Strait does not rise to the severity levels of hijackings and kidnapping. It is predominantly thefts and armed robberies, during which crew are rarely injured. There have been no hijackings in the Singapore Strait since 2015. Kidnapping-for-ransom in the region, which had been restricted to the waters along the Sulu Archipelago, came to an end in 2020.
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Additional insights on the nature of incidents in South East Asia can be found in the threat assessments and incidents available on the Risk Intelligence System and in the Risk Intelligence Monthly Intelligence Report.