While piracy on the excessive seas continues to fall throughout many of the globe, International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Piracy Reporting Center is spotlight rising menace of violent assaults within the Gulf of Guinea off the west coast of Africa, the place 44 seafarers have been captured to date this yr.

Worldwide, simply 37 piracy and armed theft incidents have been recorder within the three months of 2016, down from 54 in the identical interval final yr, the IMB stated in it’s first quarter report. Three vessels have been hijacked and 29 boarded, with 26 crew kidnapped for ransom and an extra 28 held hostage.

The Gulf of Guinea dominates world piracy by way of numbers and severity, with the waters off Nigeria and Ivory Coast accounting for 2 of the three hijackings recorded globally, and all 28 hostages. From January to March, the area noticed 16 crew kidnapped from chemical and product tankers in 4 separate incidents. While ten assaults have been reported off Nigeria alone, all involving weapons.

“Reports in the last quarter indicate unacceptable violence against ships and crews in the Gulf of Guinea, particularly around Nigeria. The current increase in kidnappings is a cause for great concern,” stated Pottengal Mukundan, Director of IMB, who has monitored world piracy since 1991.

IMB notes that armed pirate teams have attacked vessels and their crews alongside the coast, rivers, anchorages, ports and surrounding waters, in addition to as much as 110 nautical miles out to sea, so it’s warning crews on this space to stay vigilant always. Bulk and car carriers have additionally been focused, in addition to vessels serving the oil trade.

India: armed robbers

Of India, IMB famous ten incidents within the first quarter of 2016, with the port of Kandla in Western India reporting seven of those – greater than for the entire of 2015. These assaults have been all predominantly low-level thefts by teams of armed robbers focusing on anchored vessels, the IMB stated. 

Positive indicators in South East Asia

In South East Asia, one of many largest hotspots for piracy over the previous two years, no small product tankers have been hijacked to date this yr. The excellent news follows a spate of assaults recorded there between in April 2014 and August 2015.

“Actions taken by the Malaysian and Indonesian authorities against pirate gangs in 2015 appear to have had the necessary deterrent effect,” stated Captain Mukundan.

Indonesia recorded 4 low-level thefts, a noticeable discount in comparison with the 21 incidents famous within the first quarter of 2015.

The Philippines was the placement of the third hijacking this yr, after the 2 product tankers hijacked off West Africa. Pirates attacked a tug and coal-carrying barge off Omapoy Islands in March. The barge was forged off and ten crewmembers kidnapped from the tug. The tug was recovered by the Philippine Police and the still-laden barge recovered per week later by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).

Somalia Still Fragile

No Somali-based assaults have been reported within the first three months of 2016, persevering with 2015’s streak with no assaults. However, as of 31 March 2016, suspected Somali pirates proceed to carry 29 crew members for ransom, the IMB says. Despite the decline, the IMB Piracy Reporting Center nonetheless advises shipmasters to remain vigilant and comply with the trade’s Best Management Practices whereas crusing via these waters particularly because the state of affairs onshore in Somalia stays fragile and the specter of Somali piracy has not been eradicated.

The IMB Piracy Reporting Centre is the world’s solely unbiased workplace to obtain studies of pirate assaults 24-hours-a-day from throughout the globe.