(ICC International Maritime Bureau) – Piracy and armed theft on the world’s seas is persisting at ranges near these in 2014, regardless of reductions within the variety of ships hijacked and crew captured, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) annual piracy report reveals.

IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre (IMB PRC) recorded 246 incidents in 2015, yet one more than in 2014. The variety of vessels boarded rose 11% to 203, one ship was fired at, and an extra 27 assaults had been thwarted. Armed with weapons or knives, pirates killed one seafarer and injured at the least 14. Kidnappings – the place crew are taken away and held for ransom – doubled from 9 in 2014 to 19 in 2015, all the results of 5 assaults off Nigeria.

A complete of 15 vessels had been hijacked in 2015, down from 21 in 2014, whereas 271 hostages had been held on their ships, in contrast with 442 in 2014. No hijackings had been reported within the final quarter of 2015. IMB says one key issue on this latest world discount was the drop in assaults in opposition to small gasoline tankers round South East Asia’s coasts, the final of which occurred in August 2015.

SE Asian gangs

“IMB particularly commends the robust actions taken by the Indonesian and Malaysian authorities in the arrest and prosecution of two gangs that hijacked tankers. We also applaud the subsequent arrest of some of the alleged masterminds,” mentioned Pottengal Mukundan, Director of IMB, which has monitored world piracy since 1991.

However Mr Mukundan urged shipmasters to take care of strict anti-piracy and theft watches. South East Asia nonetheless accounts for a lot of the world’s incidents. Almost 55% of the area’s assaults had been in opposition to vessels underway in comparison with 37% in 2014. Most had been aimed toward low-level theft. IMB cites this rise on transferring vessels as a trigger for concern because it will increase potential dangers to the vessels and their crew.

The IMB PRC continues to work intently with the Indonesian Marine Police and different Indonesian authorities to observe high-risk areas. Reports have diminished within the majority of the 11 designated anchorages with solely Belawan and Nipah recording marked will increase in tried thefts, reporting 15 and 26 incidents respectively in 2015.

Nigeria: oil and kidnappings

Nigeria is a hotspot for violent piracy and armed theft. Though many assaults are believed to go unrecorded, IMB acquired studies of 14 incidents, with 9 vessels boarded. In the primary of those, ten pirates armed with AK47 rifles boarded and hijacked a tanker and took all 9 crewmembers hostage. They then transferred the gasoline oil cargo into one other vessel, which was taken away by two of the attackers. The Ghanaian navy dispatched a naval vessel to research because the tanker moved into its waters, then arrested the pirates on board.

Somalia nonetheless dangerous

No Somali-based assaults had been reported in 2015. Following a brand new 55% discount within the industry-defined High Risk Area, IMB warns vessels transiting the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean to remain notably vigilant.

Mr Mukundan defined: “Somalia remains a fragile state, and the potential for an attack remains high. It will only take one successful hijacking to undo all that has been done, and rekindle this criminal activity.”

Elsewhere…

Incidents in Vietnam surged from seven in 2014 to 27 in 2015. The important trigger is low-level theft in opposition to vessels anchored in Vietnam, with 15 studies from across the port of Vung Tau alone.

In China 4 incidents had been recorded in December 2015, the primary in a very long time. These embody three thefts of bunker diesel oil from massive bulk carriers off Tianjin, and one failed try and do the identical.

Meanwhile, low-level incidents in Bangladesh dropped to 11 in 2015, from 21 in 2014.

IMB Piracy Reporting Centre

The IMB PRC is the world’s solely impartial workplace to obtain studies of pirate assaults 24-hours-a-day from throughout the globe. IMB strongly urges shipmasters and homeowners to report all precise, tried and suspected piracy and armed theft incidents to the IMB PRC. This first step within the response chain is important to making sure that enough assets are allotted by authorities to sort out piracy. Transparent statistics from an impartial, non-political, worldwide group can act as a catalyst to attain this aim.