Pirates increase use of guns as attacks climb

Increased pirate attacks along the Somali waters has pushed up global piracy figures surpassing last year’s, according to the latest International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB) report.

The reports says that 306 attacks were reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) in the first nine months of 2009, while in 2008, the total number of attacks for the year was 293.

It also reveals that incidents in which guns were used had risen by more than 200 per cent, compared to the corresponding period in 2008.

The quarterly piracy report, attribute the surge in the attacks to heightened piracy activity off the Somali Coast, where 47 incidents were reported compared to just 12 for the same period of the previous year.

At the Gulf of Aden, there were 100 incidents compared to 51 for the same period of the previous year.

Despite the overall rise in figures, there has been a decrease in the number of incidents recorded in the third quarter of 2009 (63 incidents) compared to the first and second quarters, which recorded 103 and 140 incidents respectively.

The decrease in piracy activity in that period in the Gulf of Aden and off the East Coast of Somalia can be credited primarily to monsoons.

The statistics reveal that in the first nine months, 114 vessels were boarded, 34 vessels hijacked and 88 vessels fired upon.

A total of 661 crew members were taken hostage, 12 kidnapped, six killed and eight reported missing.

However, it paints a bright picture in the efforts to combat the crime, pointing out that there has been a marked decrease globally in the number of vessels hijacked in the first nine months of 2009, compared to the same period in 2008.

This is from an average of one in 6.4 vessels in 2008 to one in nine vessels in 2009.

There is a strong international military presence in the piracy infested Gulf of Eden near Somali a move that has reduced the number of hijacks.

However, there are still calls particularly from the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners, that naval piracy deterrent actions should be scaled up.

The report says Somali pirates have extended their reach, threatening not only the Gulf of Aden and East Coast of Somalia but also the southern region of the Red Sea, the Bab el Mandab Straits and the East Coast of Oman.

The area is still ranked the number one piracy hotspot, with a total of 168 incidents reported in the first three quarters of 2009, accounting for more than half of reported attacks.

The Gulf of Aden, off Somalia, connects to the Red Sea, which in turn is linked to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal.

The route is thousands of miles and many days shorter than travelling around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.

Some 20 tankers sail through the sea lane daily. But some liners have in the past detoured around southern Africa to avoid pirates.

“The naval vessels operating off the Coast of Somalia continue to play a critical role in containing the piracy threat,” said IMB director Pottengal Mukundan. “Enhanced security measures by vessels have also made it difficult for pirates to succeed in their attacks.”

Captain Mukundan added: “It is vital that regions in Somalia such as Puntland continue to take firm action in investigating and prosecuting the pirates. This will be a far better deterrent against Somali pirates than prosecution and punishment in a foreign country.”

Nigeria remains another area of high concern.

While only 20 attacks were officially reported to IMB in 2009, other sources indicate that at least 50 per cent of attacks on vessels, mostly related to the oil industry, have gone unreported.

The IMB report noted that of the 20 incidents reported, eight were in the waters around Lagos.

Chittagong port in Bangladesh has also seen an increase in the number of incidents as compared to 2008.

There have been 12 reported attacks so far in 2009 — 10 successfully carried out — compared to nine for the same period in 2008, when all the vessels were successfully boarded and looted.

The South China Sea has once again proven to be an area of concern and enhanced risk, with 10 incidents reported so far in 2009.

This is the highest recorded number of incidents in the corresponding period over the last five years.

All of the attacks were successful and in some cases the bridge of the vessel was left unmanned for some time.

IMB urges all ship masters, owners and managers, and others involved in the shipping industry, to report piracy or armed robbery incidents to its PRC – located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.