Indonesia is the largest archipelagic country with a favorable geographical location as a trade route for national and international economies. The strategic advantage of Indonesian waters also invites transnational organized crime groups to develop and target many ships operating in Indonesian waters.
Get to Know The Differences Between Sea Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships
Sea piracy and sea/armed robbery are criminal offenses committed by ships belonging to foreign countries. This criminal activity is harmful for the shipping world. Sea/armed robbery is a robbery that occurs at sea, also known as sea piracy (Estiyantara et al., 2021). The purpose of this crime is to steal cargo’s valuable items. Individuals or organizations that carry out acts of sea piracy are called pirates.
Sea piracy and sea/armed robbery have different criminal acts. Sea piracy is a criminal act of robbery that occurs outside the jurisdiction of a country in high seas. Referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, sea piracy is included in the realm of universal jurisdiction, meaning that state government service ships and warships have the right to arrest crew, ships, and cargo controlled by pirates. Meanwhile, the sea/armed robbery occurs in the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone), additional zones, archipelagic waters, inland waters, and territorial seas (Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982).
Spatio-temporal Analysis of the Sea Piracy and Armed Robbery in Indonesia
Referring to the report of the ICC International Maritime Bureau (2021), Indonesia is a country with the most sea piracy and armed robbery against ships attacks in Southeast Asia and is even included in one of the areas affected by piracy in the world. Based on the results of research from Sandkamp et al. (2022), during the 2015-2020 period, West Africa recorded 385 attacks, followed by the South China Sea with 344 attacks, and the Malacca Strait with 283 attacks. This then underlies the importance of knowing and increasing awareness of the importance of handling this crime case considering that the Malacca Strait and South China Sea areas are in direct contact with Indonesian territory.
Observations on cases of sea piracy and armed robbery against ships in Indonesia in this paper use the spatio-temporal analysis method. The data and information used are cases from the latest 10 years back from 2012 to 2022. The sea piracy and armed robbery against ships derived from the National Geospatial Agency Anti-shipping Activity Messages (ASAM). ASAM contains location data and information and descriptive reports on hostile acts against ships and seafarers. ASAM data and information can be used to identify, prevent, and avoid potential activities that can threaten ships and seafarers.
Based on the results of spatial analysis, the areas that are often get piracy attacks in Indonesia over the past 10 years are the Strait of Singapore, Strait of Makassar, Strait of Malacca, and Strait of Sunda. In the Strait of Makassar, the location of attacks tends to occur in the East Kalimantan region.
Temporarily, attacks were found to have occurred frequently in 2012 – 2017 and almost all areas in Indonesia experienced attacks, especially in the territorial waters of western Indonesia. Then in 2018, attacks began to decline, the decline was visible in the Strait of Malacca, North Natuna Sea, and Eastern Indonesian waters.
However, attacks fluctuated again in 2019-2020, the peak of the increase occurred in 2020 when an increase in the distribution of attacks was detected in the Strait of Singapore, Strait of Malacca, Strait of Sunda, and Strait of Makassar. The increase in attacks in 2019-2020 was allegedly due to the impact of economic difficulties in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, which spread to all corners of the world and killed some of the world's people's income. Furthermore, in 2021 attacks began to decline again, but if you pay close attention to the location of the attacks from year to year, the Strait of Singapore is the area that gets attacked most. Then followed by the Strait of Makassar Strait, Strait of Malacca, and Strait of Sunda, but at these three locations attacks tend to be dynamic and fluctuate every year.
In the first quarter of 2022, 18 attacks were detected until March 2022. 13 of them were detected in the Strait of Singapore. According to Wiyoga (2020), piracy attacks were found to have occurred in the border waters between Indonesia and Singapore, which is the Strait of Singapore. Piracy attacks are recorded to have increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. The detection of even an increase in piracy attacks indicates the need for increased State control to increase awareness and prevention to avoid sea piracy and armed robbery against ships that threaten both ships and sailors so that they can sail safely.
REFERENCE
Estiyantara, N. F., Riska Putri, W., & Fitriono, R. A. (2021). Faktor Kriminolog Penyebab Terjadinya Kejahatan Perompakan Kapal Laut. Gema Keadilan, 8(3), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.14710/gk.8.3.%p
ICC International Maritime Bureau. (2021). Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships (1 January - 30 June 2021, p. 44). ICC International Maritime Bureau.
Sandkamp, A., Stamer, V., & Yang, S. (2022). The rum is gone! The impact of maritime piracy on trade and transport [Research Center]. VOX CEPR Policy Portal. https://voxeu.org/article/impact-maritime-piracy-trade-and-transport
UN General Assembly, Convention on the Law of the Sea, 10 December 1982
Wiyoga, P. (2020). Selama Pandemi, Selat Singapura Makin Rawan Perompak [News]. Kompas.Id. https://www.kompas.id/baca/nusantara/2020/11/10/selama-pandemi-selat-singapura-makin-rawan-perompak
AUTHOR
Merisa Dwi Juanita, S.IP., M.Han.
Founder of Bara Maritim
AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR
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