Piracy and armed robbery of container vessels is on the increase. Most of the thefts aboard container vessels take place while they are anchored at port or waiting offshore. There have been fewer attacks of ships at sea because of tighter security measures.
The number of piracy incidents worldwide increased by 10 percent in 2007, according to the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB), the first time since 2003.
There were 263 attacks on ships in 2007, compared to 239 in 2006, said the IMB report, which is based on statistics compiled by the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Eighteen vessels were hijacked in 2007, up from 14 in 2006 while 292 crew members were taken hostage compared to 188 in 2006 and 63 crew members kidnapped, five killed and three still reported missing.
The nature of the attacks indicates that the pirates/robbers boarding the vessels are better armed and they have shown no hesitation in assaulting and injuring the crew. Guns were used in 72 incidents, an increase of 35 percent over the past year. The total number of crew assaulted and injured was 64 as compared to 17 in 2006.
The majority of these incidents have occurred off the Somali coastline.
IMB director Pottengal Mukundan said, "the significant increase in the numbers can be directly attributed to the increase in the incidents in Nigeria and Somalia. These two countries account for 42 and 31 of the 2007 figures respectively compared with 12 and 10 attacks in 2006."
Nigeria and Somalia give the greatest cause for concern. The majority of the attacks in Nigeria would appear to be much more concentrated in a few hot spots. Thirty-five vessels have been boarded in Nigeria with 25 attacks in Lagos alone. The attacks and kidnappings in the Delta region are done under the banner "political" movements.
On the brighter side, there has been a steady decrease in incidents reported in Southeast Asia.Over the past five years, there has been a significant drop in the incidents reported in Indonesia, where in 2003, there were 121 incidents and in 2007, only 43 incidents. Mal- aysia, Malacca Straits and Singapore Straits have also seen a steady decrease in reported incidents.
This welcomed re- duction has been the cumulative result of increased vigilance and patrolling by the littoral states and the continued precautionary measures on board the ships.
Authorities in Bangladesh were commended for their efforts in reducing the reported incidents from 47 in 2006 to only 15 in 2007. This should, however, not be taken as an indication that the threat has ceased to exist. Ship masters are advised to maintain strict anti-piracy watches especially while ships are approaching the anchorage and while anchored.
Mukundan praised the role of the PRC, stating that "it is the only centre of its kind offering masters the facility to report pirate attacks at any time, wherever they are in the world, to a single point of contact. It is vital that masters report to the PRC, so that information can be promptly passed on to the nearest law enforcement agency for prompt action.'' |
