Five robbers are reported to have boarded a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier while underway in the Eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme, Singapore Straits. The Master reported that nothing has been stolen, the crew were all safe, no assistance was required, and the vessel continued her transit to Singapore.
This is the fifty-first illegal boarding of this type to occur in the immediate area of the Singapore Strait TSS this year; the second 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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