Fourteen robbers reportedly boarded a barge under tow by a Malaysian-flagged tug in the Westbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), Singapore Straits. The Master informed Port Operations Control that robbers had stolen items of scrap metal before escaping. The crew were reported safe and no assistance was required. The vessel continued to tow the barge to Port Klang.
This is incident makes 52 illegal boarding of this type to occur in the immediate area of the Singapore Strait TSS this year; the third robbery to occur in November.
In most instances, robbers have been discovered armed with knives, or makeshift/expedient weapons, and in or near the vessels' engine room. All but seven of these incidents occurred while the vessel was underway.
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