Armed Robbers Tie Up Engineer on Tanker in Singapore Strait
Six armed robbers boarded a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker in the Phillip Channel of the Singapore Strait in the early hours of 10 November and tied up the third engineer before stealing engine parts. The Phillip Channel is part of the busy eastbound traffic lane south of Singapore, between Singapore and Indonesia’s Riau Islands.
The robbers carried objects that looked like firearms and boarded while the ship was underway. The third engineer was reportedly unhurt, the tanker needed no help, and it continued its voyage to Singapore. Security firm Clearwater Dynamics reported the boarding, citing Singapore’s Information Fusion Centre, and Japan’s Coast Guard also issued a navigational warning. The tanker has not been named.
From the CrewMirror Blog
The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ReCAAP ISC) has now warned of three incidents in the eastbound lane in nine days, on 2, 4 and 10 November. They involved two bulk carriers and one tanker, boarded within about 3.2 nautical miles of each other, and engine spares were stolen from two of them. CrewMirror earlier reported the first two robberies on bulk carriers, in one of which a crew member was tied up and suffered a minor hand injury.
ReCAAP ISC says the three November incidents bring the number of sea robberies reported in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore to 28 since the start of 2026. Basic precautions from the CrewMirror piracy survival guide for seafarers also apply to these night-time boardings.
CrewMirror Takeaway
Engine-room watchkeepers are often the first to meet robbers in these boardings. Ships in the eastbound lane at night are safer with extra lookouts, locked access points and quick reports of suspicious craft to Singapore VTIS, and crews are advised not to confront armed intruders.
