Piracy attacks on the rise worldwide
2009/07/16
KUALA LUMPUR: Piracy attacks more than doubled globally in the first six months of the year compared with the same period last year.
Between January and June this year, there were 240 reports compared with 114 last year, the ICC International Maritime Bureau's (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre said yesterday. Two occurred in the Straits of Malacca in the first quarter of the year.
According to the centre's report, attacks in Southeast Asia and the Far East increased by more than 100 per cent, from 10 in the first quarter to 21 in the second, confirming a similar trend seen last year.
The only difference is that the attacks in the first quarter were against vessels at anchor, while during the second quarter, they were against vessels at sea, it said.
"This is a clear indication that piracy and robbery in Southeast and East Asia have the potential to escalate, and shipmasters should remain alert and be aware of the risks involved in the seaway and ports," said IMB director Pottengal Mukundan.
The report stated that the rise in numbers was due almost entirely to increased Somali pirate activity in the Gulf of Aden (86 incidents) and east coast of Somalia (44).
"The year's second quarter saw 136 reports of piracy compared with 104 in the first three months," the report said.
Seventy-eight vessels were boarded worldwide, 75 vessels fired upon and 31 vessels hijacked with some 561 crew taken hostage, 19 injured, seven kidnapped, six killed and eight missing.
The attackers were armed with guns and knives in the majority of incidents, and violence against crew members continues to increase, the report concluded.
Nevertheless, the presence of navies from several countries in the Gulf of Aden made it difficult for pirates to hijack vessels and led them to seek new areas of operation such as the southern Red Sea and the east coast of Oman, where Somali pirates are believed to be responsible for a spate of recent attacks.
The report said the attacks off the eastern coast of Somalia had decreased in recent months, after peaking in March and April, with no attacks reported in June.
The piracy reporting centre attributed the decline to heavy weather associated with the monsoons that are expected to continue in August, however adding that vigilance should nevertheless, remain high during this period.
Nigeria continues to be a high risk area, with 13 incidents reported in the second quarter and at least 24 other attacks which had not been directly reported. -- Bernama
