ReCAAP ISC Q3: 119 incidents in the first nine months of 2025

The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) has released its 3rd Quarterly Report of 2025 or the period of January to September.

According to the ReCAAP ISC, a total of 119 incidents of Piracy and ARAS was reported during January-September 2025, compared to 71 incidents during the same period in 2024 (68% increase in no. of incidents). Of the 119 incidents, two were piracy incidents and 117 were sea robberies.

Furthermore, the majority of sea robbery incidents involved petty theft, with perpetrators typically unarmed and no injuries reported among crew members. Notably, there was a sharp decline in incidents during the third quarter (July to September 2025), following the arrest of the perpetrators by Indonesian authorities in July.

Key findings:

For the overall situation of Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships (ARAS), commonly known as sea robbery in Asia during January-September 2025, there has been a 68% increase in the number of incidents compared to January-September 2024. A total of 119 incidents of Piracy and ARAS was reported during January-September 2025 compared to 71 incidents during the same period in 2024. Of the 119 incidents, two were piracy incidents and 117 were sea robberies. Among these incidents, 114 were actual incidents and five were attempted incidents.
The majority of the sea robberies incidents were petty theft involving perpetrators not carrying any weapons, crew not injured (CAT 4 incidents), and this accounts for 53% (60 incidents) of the total incidents during January-September 2025.
Notably, there was a sharp decline in the number of incidents in the third quarter of 2025 post arrest of the perpetrators in July by the Indonesian authorities. Improvement of the situation occurred in Bangladesh and Indonesia.
However, there was an increase in the number of incidents in India, the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS), South China Sea and Vietnam during January-September 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Of concern was the continual occurrence of incidents in SOMS during January-July 2025. With the arrest of at least two syndicates in July 2025, the number of incidents has declined significantly since August 2025.

Incidents of January-September 2025 versus January-September 2024
Overall, there was an increase in the number of incidents reported during January–September 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, particularly in India (three incidents compared to two), the South China Sea (two compared to one), the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS) (97 compared to 35), and Vietnam (two compared to one).

In contrast, a decrease was observed in Bangladesh, where four incidents were reported compared to 11, and in Indonesia (excluding SOMS), with eight incidents compared to 18.

The number of incidents remained consistent in Malaysia (excluding SOMS), with one incident reported in both years, while in the Philippines, no incidents were reported in 2025 compared to two in 2024.

Area of concern
The situation in SOMS showed marked improvement in Q3 2025 (July-September) compared to Q1 2025 (January-March) and Q2 2025 (April-June). A total of 36 incidents were reported in Q1, 44 incidents in Q2 and 17 incidents in Q3.

Despite the improvement of the situation in SOMS in Q3, the overall number of incidents occurred during January-September 2025 (97 incidents) in SOMS is a substantial increase compared to the same period in 2024, when only 35 incidents were reported. The situation in SOMS remains a key area of concern in 2025.

Significance level of incidents:
The ReCAAP ISC classifies each actual incident into four categories, providing a qualitative perspective based on severity:

CAT 1: ‘Very significant’ – Armed with guns/knives; crew faces injury, violence, abduction, or death. The ship may be hijacked or cargo siphoned.
CAT 2: ‘Moderately significant’ – Armed with knives/machetes; crew faces threats or injury, possibly held hostage.
CAT 3: ‘Less significant’ – Armed with knives/machetes or sticks; crew faces duress, but no harm. Minor theft may occur.
CAT 4: ‘Least significant’ – Perpetrators unarmed; no injury to crew. Small or no theft.

According to the ReCAAP ISC, of the 114 actual incidents reported during January-September 2025, 10 were CAT 2 incidents, 44 were CAT 3 incidents and 60 were CAT 4 incidents. No CAT 1 incident was reported during this period. The severity of incidents reported during January-September 2025 was generally lower compared to the same period in 2024. Among the actual incidents reported during January-September 2025, 9% of the incidents were CAT 2, and 91% were CAT 3 and CAT 4 incidents.

In comparison, 20% of the actual incidents reported during January-September 2024 were CAT 1 and 2, and 80% were CAT 3 and CAT 4 incidents. It is also worth noting that since 2017, majority of the incidents that occurred in Asia have been of lower severity, as 88% were CAT 3 and CAT 4 incidents, the other 12% were CAT 1 and CAT 2 incidents. In contrast, only 68% of the incidents reported during 2007-2016 were CAT 3 and CAT 4 incidents, and 32% were CAT 1 and CAT 2 incidents.

Status of ships
Of the 119 incidents reported during January-September 2025, 19 incidents (16%) occurred to ships while at anchor/berth and 100 incidents (84%) occurred to ships while underway.

Recommendations:
Law Enforcement Agencies