SINGAPORE – The year is not over but the number of theft of cargo from barges towed by tug boats in the Singapore Straits has already hit a five-year high.

Scrap metal was often the loot they took, said a special report on Thursday (Aug 22) by the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information Sharing Centre .

In all, there have been 14 theft and robbery incidents between February to mid-August, compared with just 13 in the four years between 2015 and 2018.

The ReCAAP information sharing centre said a record nine cases involved theft of scrap metals from barges, with robbery making up the rest.

It said the theft of the scrap metal is of particular concern as the increase is significant when compared to only 16 incidents in the eight years between 2011 and 2018.

The Singapore Strait is a waterway south of Singapore which links the Strait of Malacca to the South China Sea.

The centre said it was concerned about the rise “although all the 14 incidents were Cat 4 (petty theft) in nature as the perpetrators were not armed and the crew not harmed”.

They all took place in the western sector of the Singapore Strait.

Eleven of the 14 boats attacked were Malaysia-registered vessels, one is Cyprus-registered, another one Niue-registered ship and the country of the last one is unknown.

Five were sailing to Penang and three were heading to Port Klang in Malaysia. Information on the rest is not available.

The centre said that in most of the scrap metal thefts, the culprits would sail their smaller boats till they are alongside the barge and transfer the scrap metal onto their vessels.

The tow boat and barge would be moving slowing owing to the heavy cargo.

In many cases, the crew in the tow boat would be unaware of the theft taking place as the barges are usually unmanned.

Three people, suspected of being part of the criminal groups involved in these thefts, were arrested by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency earlier in August, the centre added.

To put a lid on the rising crime, the ReCAAP said crew of tug boats and barges entering the Singapore Strait should refer to its website on when and where previous cases had taken place.

They also need to be more vigilant and look out for suspicious small boats and report suspicious activities to the authorities.

ReCAAP added: “More need to be done to strengthen regional cooperation and coordination among the littoral states in conducting joint coordinated patrols, surveillance, enforcement, apprehension and prosecution of the perpetrators involved.”

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