IMB: Piracy at sea falls to lowest level in seven years 18-10-2013 The International Chamber of Commerces International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has revealed that piracy on the worlds seas is at its lowest third-quarter level since 2006, but warns of the threat of continuing violent attacks off the East and West coasts of Africa. The latest IMB Piracy Report showed that hostage-taking has also fallen markedly, with 266 people taken hostage this year, compared with 458 in the first three quarters of 2012. In the first nine months of 2013, IMBs global figures show pirates hijacked 10 vessels, fired at 17, and boarded 140. A further 21 attacks were thwarted. In total 266 crew were taken hostage and 34 kidnapped. One seafarer was killed, twenty were injured, and one is reported missing, IMB said in a press release. Despite the lower numbers, IMB Director Pottengal Mukundan said security should not be relaxed. Although the number of attacks is down overall, the threat of attacks remains, particularly in the waters off Somalia and in the Gulf of Guinea. It is vital that ship masters continue to be vigilant as they transit these waters, he said. Meanwhile, attacks in seas around Somalia continued to fall dramatically, with just ten incidents attributed to Somali pirates this year, down from 70 in the same nine months of 2012. IMB attributes this improvement to the actions of naval forces engaged in anti-piracy operations, security teams on board vessels, ships complying with the industrys best management practices, and the stabilizing influence of the Central Government of Somalia. The vital role of the navies off the coast of Somalia should not be underestimated. Their presence ensures that pirates do not operate with the impunity they did before, said Captain Mukundan. NewsLink Maritime News newslinkservices/
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 05:19:01 +0000
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