London, 31 October 2006 - The number of reported piracy attacks world-wide in the first nine months of 2006 decreased to 174 compared to 205 during the corresponding period in 2005, according to the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB).
In its Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships report, the IMB lists a total of 174 attacks on ships. Ships were boarded in 113 instances and 11 ships were hijacked. There were 163 crew taken hostage, 20 crew were kidnapped and six crew killed.
“The reduction in attacks is welcome. Credit for this must go to the law enforcement agencies responding to the attacks in high risk areas. This would not have been possible without focussed information on the numbers, types of attacks and trends in these areas provided by the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre. We thank seafarers and owners for reporting attacks to the PRC and urge them to continue to do so. It is vital to bringing the attacks under control, “ said Capt Pottengal Mukundan, Director of the ICC International Maritime Bureau.
Although the number of attacks overall have reduced, there is a worry that in some key hot spots the situation has deteriorated. Bangladesh recorded 33 incidents ‑ 22 actual and 11 attempted, most of which took place in and around the port of Chittagong, resulting in it being accorded the title of the world’s most dangerous port according to the PRC report. Attempts have been made to deal with the problem in Bangladesh, notably a recent joint Coast Guard and Navy operation to capture pirates in the Bay of Bengal that involved 17 naval vessels and 3,000 Coastguard personnel who sought to clear pirate infested’ areas of the bay and stop pirates using them to shelter from the authorities. During the operation a fire fight resulted in the death of two pirates.
Another area singled out for mention is Nigeria, where the relatively small number of attacks numerically ‑ six actual and three attempted ‑ belies the fact that three of these attacks led to 17 crew members being kidnapped and held as hostages for ransom.
The Nigerian attacks were also marked by their violence, with pirates recorded as carrying guns, knives or both in most instances. Another feature in some of the attacks was the large number of pirates involved. In one instance 40 people attacked a vessel whilst underway from three canoes and kidnapped four crew members. In another a ship was attacked by 23 pirates armed with knives. The pirate attacks are symptomatic of a large rise in the number of incidents against foreign oil workers in the country generally, something that has gained wide international media attention recently, and where local politics are now having a direct impact on the safety of shipping in the area.
On the positive side increased patrols are being held responsible for the reduction in Indonesian piracy attacks. Figures show that incidents of piracy and armed robbery in Indonesian waters dropped from 61 to 40 in 2006, compared to the same period in 2005. However, Indonesia still accounted for more attacks than anywhere else, consolidating its position as the world’s hottest piracy hot spot.
Eight attacks have been reported off the eastern coast of Somalia where pirates armed with guns and grenades have attacked ships and fired upon them. Whilst there have been no recent incidents, the eastern north-eastern coasts of Somalia continue to be high-risk areas for hijackings and IMB warns that ships not making scheduled calls to ports in these areas should stay at least 75 miles or as far away as practical from the coast.
Elsewhere, the PRC report notes several interesting statistics regarding attacks and the good news that the Malacca Straits have been dropped from Lloyd’s list of dangerous waterways, a decision thought to be largely the result of improvements to security implemented by the littoral states bordering the Straits. Meanwhile, there have been more attacks on container ships (37/24) and fishing boats (15/3) in the first nine months of 2006 compared with the same period last year, whilst attacks on bulk carriers, general cargo ships and tankers have reduced.
The Report identifies ports and anchorages, more prone to attacks. Chittagong and Jakarta (Tg Priok) were recorded as having the highest number of attacks 33 and 9 reported attacks respectively followed by Santos with six incidents.
The IMB has recently launched an online piracy map which gives users a visual on the nature and location of attacks to help them better understand and track incidents. The map is available as either a satellite view, provided by Google, a plain view (indicating countries and borders), or a combination of both. Viewers see not only the relief of the coastline but also the bays and coves from which pirates may initiate their attack.
This user-friendly map can be accessed on the IMB website (www.icc-ccs.org). Red balloons mark actual attacks while yellow balloons show attempted attacks. Clicking on these initiates a pop-up with a summary of the attack including the date and time, the type of vessel attacked, the type of attack and the number of crew affected. As with IMB’s quarterly and annual piracy reports, the information comes directly from ship masters and ship owners. Once verified by IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre new attacks or attempts will be added to the map within 24 hours.
The IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) is the only centre of its kind in the world, which offers Ship’s Masters the facility to report pirate attacks at any time, wherever they are in the world, to a single point of contact. Calling for all attacks and attempted attacks to be reported to the PRC so that a more complete picture of the problem can be drawn up, the IMB notes that the Centre’s role extends far beyond compiling reports and issuing warnings, valuable though these are to governments and the international shipping industry. It provides immediate advice to Ship’s Masters under attack, and through local authorities have co-ordinated medical assistance and support.
The work of PRC is funded by 22 organisations including P&I Clubs, ship owners and insurers. The Centre is now recognized throughout the maritime industry for its valuable contribution in quantifying the problem of world piracy and providing assistance, free of charge to ships that have been attacked.
The IMB’s Report on piracy seeks not only to list the facts, but also to analyse developments in piracy and to identify piracy-prone areas so that ships can take preventive action. On a trial basis, IMB is offering the report free of cost. A copy of the report can be requested by logging on to www.icc-ccs.org.
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