The latest global piracy report from the International Maritime Bureau recorded 97 incidents of piracy and armed robbery for the first nine months of 2021—the lowest level of reported incidents since 1994.
In 2021, the IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) reported 85 vessels boarded, nine attempted attacks, two vessels fired upon and one vessel hijacked.
Although reported incidents are down to their lowest level in decades, violence against seafarers has continued with 51 crew members kidnapped, eight taken hostage, five threatened, three injured, two assaulted and one killed, according to the latest statistics from the IMB, which is a division of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce.
The Gulf of Guinea region recorded 28 incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the first nine months of 2021, in comparison to 46 for the same period in 2020. Most notably, Nigeria only reported four incidents in the first nine months of 2021, in comparison to 17 in 2020 and 41 in 2018.
Crew kidnappings in the region have dropped with only one crew member kidnapped in quarter three of 2021, compared to 31 crew members taken in five separate incidents during Q3 2020. All Q3 incidents in 2021 were also against vessels at port anchorages whilst the average successful kidnapping location in Q3 2020 was about 100 nautical miles from land, according to the IMB.
“The overall reduction of piracy and armed robbery incidents in the region is a testament to enhanced maritime security and response coordination measures adopted by regional and national authorities,” IMB said in a statement. “Despite these gains, IMB warns that the risk to crew remains high in the region and that such efforts must therefore be sustained.”
“We welcome the decrease of piracy and armed robbery attacks in the Gulf of Guinea and the efforts taken by maritime authorities in the region,” ICC International Maritime Bureau Director Michael Howlett said. “However, there needs to be sustained efforts to ensure the continued safety of seafarers as they transport essential goods throughout the region. Coastal states must redouble their coordination and security measures to ensure that piracy and armed robbery incidents continue to decline.”
The Singapore Straits reported 20 incidents of armed robbery—the highest recorded number since 1991. Reported incidents in the Straits are up from 15 in 2020 and just one incident in 2019. The attacks are low-level and opportunistic in nature, according to IMB, but the organization warns that the perpetrators pose a direct threat to seafarers and vessels underway. In four incidents, crew were threatened, assaulted or injured.
The Callao Anchorage in Peru is another area that has witnessed an increase of piracy activity with 15 reported incidents in 2021—the highest number since 1991, according to data. As with the Singapore Straits, the incidents are low-level thefts with knives being reported as the weapon used in 60% of the incidents.
“Attackers in the region possess the capacity to carry out violent attacks, with three crew taken hostage and a further one each assaulted or threatened during the first nine months of 2021,” the report states.
Additionally, the IMB PRC reported a noticeable reduction in the number of reported incidents in Indonesian waters, with only six low-level incidents reported in the first nine months of 2021, compared to 23 during the same period in 2020. This is the lowest total of reported piracy and armed robbery incidents in Indonesian waters since 1993, data show.
“While the reduction of reported incidents is welcome,” the Maritime Bureau said in a statement, “IMB PRC warns that seafarers must remain vigilant as violence against crew remains high in many areas of the world.”
The full IMB report is available at https://www.icc-ccs.org
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