The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has released its Maritime Piracy Report which highlights a continuing trend in South East Asia in the hijacking of small coastal tankers by maritime pirates, averaging one attack every two weeks.
According to the report, five small tankers were hijacked in South East Asian waters in the second quarter of 2015 alone, bringing the total number of vessels hijacked globally in 2015 to 13. However, the IMB stressed that enhanced cooperation between regional authorities was paying off and that early detection of approaching skiffs had resulted in attacks being aborted.
IMB highlighted the tracking and arrest off Vietnam of an eight-man Indonesian gang responsible for the hijacking of a Malaysian tanker last month. IMB also praised the Malaysian authorities for the June conviction of nine Indonesian pirates, apprehended after the January hijacking of an anchored product tanker off Johor.
The latest global report reveals that a total of 134 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships were reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) in the first six months of 2015; an increase on the 116 reports for the corresponding period in 2014.
Pirates managed to board 106 vessels and were responsible for 13 hijackings and 15 attempted attacks worldwide. So far in 2015, 250 crew members have been taken hostage, 14 assaulted, 10 kidnapped, nine injured and one killed.
According to the latest statistics, while more than a third of incidents reported to the PRC took place off the coast of Indonesia, the majority of these related to low-level, opportunistic thefts from vessels.
The IMB report notes a significant increase in the number of incidents off Bangladesh and Chittagong in particular, with 10 reports made in the second quarter of 2015 compared with only one in the first quarter. Again, these attacks related to armed robberies from vessels.
Off Nigeria, 11 incidents were reported in the first half of 2015 though no incidents were reported in the month of June. However, 10 crew kidnappings in three separate events were reported in and around Nigerian waters.
Encouragingly, in the second quarter of 2015, no reports were received off the coast of Somalia.
Although no attacks have been reported off Somalia, IMB advises that the security situation in the Horn of Africa remains uncertain. IMB urges ship masters to remain vigilant when transiting these waters and to adhere to the industry's Best Management Practice.
As the world's only independent centre to receive reports of pirate attacks worldwide 24 hours a day, IMB also calls on all shipmasters and owners to report any actual, attempted or suspected piracy and/or armed robbery incidents to its Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Centre.
This first step in the response chain is vital to ensuring that adequate resources are allocated by authorities to tackle the scourge of maritime piracy. Transparent statistics from an independent, non-political, international organisation is an effective catalyst to achieve this goal.
IMB offers the latest piracy reports free of charge, and the latest attacks may also be viewed on the IMB Live Piracy Map - https://www.icc-ccs.org/piracy-reporting-centre/live-piracy-map.
