The IMO issued a Maritime Safety Committee circular providing the
annual report for 2002 of reports on acts of piracy and armed robbery against
ships. The number of such acts reported to the IMO during 2002 was 383, an
increase of 4% over the figure for 2001. The most affected area was the Far
East, with 140 incidents reported in the South China Sea alone.
MSC.4/Circ.32 http://www.imo.org/includes/blastDataOnly.asp/data_id=7215/32-b&w.pdf (Source: Haight Gardner Holland & Knight “Maritime Items”)