SINGAPORE – The number of piracy and armed robbery on ships for 2025 in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS) rose to 108 incidents – the highest in the last 19 years from 2007 to 2025.

The recent figures represent a 74 per cent increase from the 62 incidents reported in the SOMS for 2024, said the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information Sharing Centre (ISC) at a media briefing on Jan 9.

Fortunately, most of the incidents, which had occurred on the eastbound lane of the SOMS, were cases of opportunistic theft that left most of the ships’ crew uninjured.

ReCAAP executive director Vijay D. Chafekar said that the increase in number of incidents in 2025 “does not indicate a corresponding increase in threat to maritime trade passing through the SOMS”.

“The higher number of incidents largely corresponds to minor petty theft cases,” he added.

In almost half of the cases, nothing was taken despite the vessels being boarded by unknown persons. Engine spares were stolen in 31 per cent of the incidents. A smaller percentage reported personal belongings, cash and ship stores being stolen.

Over half of the incidents happened to bulk carriers or vessels carrying unpacked cargo, mostly in the dead of night.

A hint of the spike in the sea robbery incidents in the SOMS emerged when the figures for the first half of 2025 were revealed in July 2025. The figure was four times that for the same period in 2024, as there were 80 such incidents reported between January and June 2025 to ReCAAP.

Yet, the spate of incidents fell from July to October 2025, said Ms Lee Yin Mui, deputy director of ReCAAP, attributing the decline to Indonesian law enforcement efforts.