The global piracy report of the international Chamber of Commerce’s Interna- tional Maritime Bureau (IMB), released on January 16, reveals that piracy on the world’s seas has reached a five-year low, with 297 ships attacked in 2012, compared with 439 in 2011.
According to the report, the worldwide figure declined because of a huge reduction in Somali piracy, though East and West Africa remain the worst hit-areas, with 150 attacks in 2012.
Globally, 174 ships were boarded by pirates in 2012, while 28 were hijacked and 28 were fired on. The IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre, which has monitored piracy worldwide since 1991, also recorded 67 attempted attacks. The number of people taken hostage on board fell to 585 from 802 in 2011, while a further 26 were kidnapped for ransom in Nigeria. Six crew members were killed and 32 were injured or assaulted.
In Somalia and the Gulf of Aden, just 75 ships reported attacks in 2012, compared with 237 in 2011, which accounts for 25% of incidents worldwide. The number of Somali hijackings was halved from 28 in 2011 to 14 last year.
According to the IMB, navies are deterring piracy off Africa’s east coast with pre-emptive strikes and robust action against mother ships, as are private armed security teams and crews’ application of ‘best management practices’.
Pirate mother ships and skiffs were reported in the Gulf of Oman, the southern Red Sea and the Somali basin, with a number of attacks close to the Straits of Hormuz and the energy routes out of the Arabian Gulf. As at December 31, Somali pirates held 104 hostages on eight ships and 23 more were detained on land, pending negotiations for their release.
In Somalia and elsewhere, the vessels most commonly attacked are container ships, bulk carriers and tankers loaded with oil, chemicals and other products. Fishing vessels and other smaller boats are also at risk.
As for West Africa, piracy is rising in the Gulf of Guinea, with 58 incidents recorded in 2012, including 10 hijackings and 207 crew members taken hostage. Pirates in this area are particularly violent, with guns reported in at least 37 of the attacks. Benin is an exception, showing a sharp fall from 20 incidents (including eight hijackings) in 2011 to two (including one hijacking) in 2012.
Nigeria accounted for 27 incidents in 2012, with four vessels hijacked, 13 vessels boarded, eight fired on and two subjected to attempted attacks. Only ten incidents were reported in 2011, including two hijackings. Togo also saw an increase – from the five reported in 2011 to 15 in 2012, including four hijackings.
Five incidents were reported off the Ivory Coast, in 2012, up from one in 2011. In the last quarter of 2012, a Panamax product tanker was hijacked by suspected Nigerian pirates off Abidjan, the first such recorded vessel hijacking off the Ivory Coast. This shows the increased range of Nigerian pirates.
Elsewhere, in South-East Asia, four vessels were hijacked, including a Malaysian tanker which was subsequently recaptured in Vietnam in the last quarter of 2012.
Across the Indonesian archipelago, there were 81 reports of petty theft, accounting for more than a quarter of global incidents in 2012. Thirty vessels were attacked in the last quarter of 2012. Reports from Indonesia have increased yearly since 2009. In 2012, vessels were boarded in 73 incidents and 47 crew members taken hostage. Fourteen incidents were reported at Belawan by ships anchored or berthed.
Classification Decisions
During December the World Customs Organisation informed of the publication of the classification decisions taken at the last session of the Harmonized System Committee in September 2012. ‘Classification decisions’ refers to classification rulings, amendments to explanatory notes and amendments to the Compendium of Classification Opinions.