SINGAPORE (Reuters) – A crew member on a Singapore-registered chemical tanker was injured due to an “unauthorised boarding” of the vessel on Friday and is being medically evacuated, Singapore’s port authority said.
The incident on the vessel, BASSET, occurred on Friday morning in the Singapore Strait, according to a statement from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.
It added that it was issuing safety broadcasts for vessels to maintain a vigilant watch but did not elaborate on the nature of the unauthorised boarding. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Armed robbery against ships is not uncommon. There were 61 cases in the Singapore Strait last year compared to 58 in 2023, according to a Singapore-based regional maritime security centre.
The vessel is currently anchored in Singapore waters and the Singapore Police Coast Guard and Singapore Civil Defence Force have been activated to render assistance, the statement said.
The port authority added that all of BASSET’s crew were accounted for and that the safety of navigation along the Singapore Strait was not affected.
(Reporting by Xinghui Kok; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
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