Piracy incidents down
January 23, 2012
International naval forces are making their presence felt in the piracy hotspots of the world, as last year the number of attacks on cargo vessels fell after four consecutive years of increased robbery on the high seas.
Attacks on ships in East and West Africa accounted for the majority of incidents in 2011, the International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) global piracy report revealed this week.
Of the 439 attacks reported to the IMB in 2011, 275 attacks took place off Somalia, on the east coast, and in the Gulf of Guinea on the west coast of Africa.
The report showed a slight drop in the total number of recorded incidents of piracy and armed robbery worldwide from 445 in 2010.
The 802 seafarers taken hostage last year also marks a decrease from the four-year high of 1,181 in 2010.
Overall in 2011, there were 45 vessels hijacked, 176 vessels boarded, 113 vessels fired upon and 105 reported attempted attacks. A total of eight crew members were killed throughout the year, the same number as 2010.
Somali pirates continue to account for the majority of attacks – approximately 54% – and the report said the figures could have been much higher “if it were not for the continued efforts of international naval forces”.
In the last quarter of 2011 alone, pre-emptive strikes by international navies disrupted at least 20 “pirate action groups” before they could become a threat to commercial fleets.
Captain Pottengal Mukundan, Director of the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre, which has been monitoring piracy worldwide since 1991, said: “The role of the navies is critical to the anti-piracy efforts in this area.”
The IMB report shows that Somali pirate attacks were predominantly concentrated within the crossroads of the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden. However, 2011 marked the first hijacking by Somali pirates of an anchored vessel from within the territorial waters of a foreign state – Oman – highlighting the need for ports and vessels at anchorages in the region to be vigilant.
Courtesy of IFW
