It's time to take our maritime security seriously

At around 3.45 am on 3 March this year, when a gas tanker named Era Star anchored at Hiron Point Pilot Station in Mongla, eight to 10 perpetrators, armed with long knives, boarded the ship. They gained access using a hook at the ship's port forward and escaped on a small boat.

The alarm was immediately sounded, an announcement was made over the Public Address (PA) system, and the crew assembled. Upon inspection, it was found out that heave lines and messenger lines had been stolen. 

Fortunately, no injuries were reported among the crew. The incident was promptly reported to the local agent.

Elsewhere at Chattogram Anchorage at around 3.25 am on 28 March, eight perpetrators armed with knives boarded a bulk carrier named Viva Cosmos. The alarm was raised, crew mustered, and a search onboard the ship was conducted. Realising the crew had been alerted, the perpetrators fled, having stolen ship stores.

These are just two out of nine reported incidents of theft or armed robbery aboard ships anchored in Bangladesh during the period of January to May this year, compared to only one incident reported in the entire year of 2023, according to a special report by the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP).

Of the nine incidents reported during January-May 2024, seven were actual incidents and two were attempted incidents.

The report recommended that ships anchoring or berthing in Bangladesh exercise enhanced vigilance, and maintain communication over VHF channels with the port control and law enforcement agencies when entering Bangladesh waters.

It also noted that both the country's navy and its coast guard have increased patrols in recent months, while the Chittagong Port Authority has established a visual tracking information management system to monitor the movement of small country boats in the port's anchorage and outer anchorage areas. 

In a recent report published in The Business Standard, Commodore Mohammad Maqsood Alam, Director General of the Department of Shipping, downplayed the incidents reported by ReCAAP, saying that they were "not cases of piracy but rather petty thefts."

Piracy and sea robbery are just the tip of the iceberg of the maritime-based threats and challenges that Bangladesh faces. Other threats include illegal fishing, drug and people smuggling, human trafficking, maritime accidents and natural disasters.  

Dr David Brewster from Australian National University

He also explained that during the recent border tensions with Myanmar, the country's law enforcement was focused there, which allowed miscreants to take advantage of the situation.

Interestingly, these reported incidents sharply contrast with Bangladesh's maritime ambitions, as it has demonstrated significant leadership in various international maritime institutions since early 2010s. 

It resolved maritime boundary disputes with Myanmar in 2012 and India in 2014 under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, bolstering legal norms in the Bay of Bengal and wider Indo-Pacific. 

From 2016 to 2018, Bangladesh chaired the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), organising its inaugural at-sea exercise and co-chairing working groups like the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief with India. 

In 2023, Bangladesh signed the Hong Kong International Convention for Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, ensuring sustainable shipbreaking practices by 2025. 

Bangladesh also completed a successful term as chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association and secured a senior position at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), including membership on its council, highlighting its growing influence and commitment to maritime security globally.

However, this surge of reported incidents within Bangladesh's own waters, in the wake of the hijacking of Bangladeshi ship MV Abdullah by Somali pirates earlier this year, raises the question if we are taking our own maritime security rather lightly. 

This is particularly concerning given that maritime trade forms the cornerstone of our international trading sector.

Bangladesh's location to the north of the Bay of Bengal provides strategic access to significant sea lines of communication (SLOCs) that traverse these waters. As a result, seaports play a vital role in the economy, facilitating over 90% of the country's international trade.

If robbery or similar incidents persist, they can directly threaten Bangladesh's international trade. This may lead to foreign traders losing confidence in Bangladesh, and commercial ships being deterred from docking at Bangladeshi ports and charged higher shipping expenses.

These incidents also highlight significant gaps in our understanding of what is happening in our maritime domain and in the ability of maritime law enforcement authorities to respond effectively to such events, according to Dr David Brewster from Australian National University, who specialises in South Asian and Indian Ocean strategic affairs.

He noted that over the years there were a number of incidents of ships reporting the theft of stores while anchored near Chattogram. In some cases, there were suspicions that these stores were actually being sold by crew to locals, and then it was reported as a robbery. This practice, however, ceased after Bangladesh authorities intervened.

Existing records show a total of 169 incidents (153 actual and 16 attempted) were reported between 2007 and May 2024. The year 2010 recorded the highest number of incidents with 24 cases (21 actual and three attempted incidents). 

But in the past couple of years, there was a notable decline in reported robberies or thefts, before the trend reversed this year.

Dr Brewster emphasised that piracy and sea robbery is just the tip of the iceberg of the maritime-based threats and challenges that Bangladesh faces. 

"Other threats include illegal fishing, drug and people smuggling, human trafficking, maritime accidents and natural disasters," he said, noting that there has not been any proper study done on their existence yet. 

Still, some existing numbers paint a grim picture, to say the least. 

There is a high trend of people from Bangladesh moving to Southeast Asia and Europe via waterways, which led to the formulation of the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act in 2012.

In 2022, Bangladesh ranked 52nd out of 152 countries in the Illegal Fishing Index, due to an alarming increase in the number of critically endangered, threatened, and vulnerable fish species within the country's maritime domain.

Journalist and researcher Dr Altaf Parvez shared that there are credible suspicions that certain Rohingya groups are involved in human trafficking, while Bangladeshi fishermen have occasionally complained about Indian nationals fishing in our waters.

He, however, believes that despite the ongoing situation in Myanmar continuing to affect Bangladesh, the rationale that Bangladesh could not prioritise its own maritime security due to Myanmar does not hold water. 

He pointed out that Myanmar's civil war has primarily impacted the waterways adjacent to Arakan, that too only recently. 

"Rather, the biggest threat to Bangladesh from Myanmar, which has been almost consistently present, is drug smuggling," Dr Parvez emphasised. "Our navy and other responsible authorities should be more proactive and vigilant to prevent it."

Numerous reports also indicate that smugglers are using the Bay of Bengal and its adjacent rivers as routes to smuggle Yaba (methamphetamine) and other narcotic drugs from Myanmar into Bangladesh.

Dr Md Rafiqul Islam, Professor and former Chairperson of Peace and Conflict at Dhaka University, is an expert in conflicts surrounding the Chattogram region. He suggested that the increase in robbery and theft incidents at ships anchored in Bangladesh since the beginning of the year could be 'a result of the spillover effect of Myanmar's internal conflict'. 

He theorised that the armed forces in Myanmar are currently engaged in a war, "And it is very much possible that some of them are involved in theft and robbery incidents to procure funds for their arms, logistics, food, and equipment expenses." 

He urged maritime law enforcement agencies to take the increasing incidents of theft and robbery seriously, rather than dismissing them as petty crimes. He also advocated for the strengthening and proper implementation of maritime laws to address these challenges effectively.

Tasnim Hasan Saara, a Faculty of Law at North South University, shared similar views and pointed out that one of the reasons for the increasing cases of maritime piracy or such incidents is the absence of strong laws in Bangladesh specifically addressing them. 

"Bangladesh will need to draft up a very efficient national Maritime Security Policy and the timely implementation of such a policy will lead to the development of the maritime strategies for the country," Saara said. 

Another concerning matter is that there are no proper laws in place in Bangladesh for crimes like maritime collisions, maritime pollution and crimes.  

A 2019 study by Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) recommended that effective capacity building is crucial, requiring policies, laws, a National Maritime Commission, trained personnel, modern technology, infrastructure, and international partnerships to protect the country's maritime interests and resources.

If there would have been strict laws in place then such crimes would have drastically reduced, making our waters more secure.