Robbery or piracy?

It is important to distinguish between armed robbery and piracy when reporting incidents in south-east Asia waters said the Singapore Shipping Association, which has commissioned a study to determine the scale of threat posed to seafarers in the area. The findings revealed, in the first quarter of this year, the vast majority of incidents fall under the category of armed robbery (which is within the territorial waters and under the jurisdiction of the sovereign state) not piracy (which is on the high seas). The distinction determines whether a merchant vessel can seek protection from the navy/coastguard of the littoral state or from the navy/coastguard of the vessel’s flag of registry.