South Korean bulker boarded by pirates in South China Sea

The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against ships in Asia (ReCAAP) has published a report stating that a commercial vessel was boarded by pirates in the South China Sea on Monday, July 22.

The report states that the master of the South Korean-flagged bulk carrier CK Bluebell had sent out a radio message saying that seven perpetrators armed with guns and knives boarded his vessel while it was underway approximately 28 nautical miles west of Pulau Anambas, Indonesia, at 03:25 local time.

Two crewmembers had suffered minor injuries at the hands of the perpetrators, who then took some cash and some of the crew's personal belongings before leaving the ship at about 04:00. CK Bluebell has since proceeded towards its next port of call at Incheon.

The ReCAAP report adds that this is the third piracy incident to occur in the waters west of Pulau Anambas following two previous incidents in 2017.