Piracy Reporting Center News

Is neo-colonialism in the Gulf of Guinea the answer to West Africa’s maritime crime crisis?In October 2020, China’s transport ministry established an ad hoc workgroup to lay down precautionary measures for ships and seafarers passing through high piracy risk West African waters.The move came as China told its vessels to up vigilance and implement a series of precautionary measures to ensure the security of ocea-going vessels and seafarers amid rising attacks and a surge in kidnaps in the Gulf of Guinea.Plans outlined by Wu Chungeng…

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim commended Nigeria’s antipiracy efforts in the Gulf of Guinea as the West African nation continues to make strides to curb attacks against ships in the world’s top piracy hot spot.Lim said recent actions made by the West African country to restrain piracy in the region “send a strong and valuable message to the international community”.The IMO head welcomed the latest initiatives to address maritime security concerns in the Gulf of Guinea…

Offshore vessel provider Telford Offshore's offshore accommodation and hook-up unit Telford 28 was attacked earlier this week while anchored in Mexico. One crew member was injured.In an email sent to Offshore Engineer, Telford Offshore said: "We can confirm that the Telford 28 came under attack while anchored at Cuidad Del Carmen, Mexico on the evening of 14th April.""Mexican Navy responded quickly and attended vessel. All personnel are now safe, although one Telford crew member suffered injuries in the attack," Telford Offshore said.According to Telford Offshore, the injured crewmember was quickly transferred to hospital ashore and is recovering well. "Our main concern and always will be is ensuring the continued safety and wellbeing of all personnel onboard our vessels.

A Maersk Supply Service's offshore vessel was a target of an armed robbery in Mexico last weekend.Maersk Supply Service confirmed for Offshore Engineer that the incident occurred on Sunday, April 12 offshore Ciudad Del Carmen, Mexico.Armed robbers boarded Maersk Transporter, stole various items and left the vessel again, the company said in an email to Offshore Engineer.Maersk Supply Services COO Mark Handin said: "All crewmembers at the location are safe and accounted for, and there are no reports of injuries. Our primary concern remains the safety and wellbeing of our crew and all those affected by the situation. "We have set up crisis counseling for our employees. The company’s incident response procedure has been activated.

Despite overall piracy incidents declining in 2019, there was an alarming increase in crew kidnappings across the Gulf of Guinea.Number of crew kidnappings jumped from 78 in 2018 to 121 last year, according to the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) annual piracy report.This equates to over 90% of global kidnappings reported at sea with 64 crew members kidnapped across six separate incidents in the last quarter of 2019 alone. The region accounted for 64 incidents including all four vessel hijackings that occurred in 2019, as well as 10 out of 11 vessels that reported coming under fire.“We remain concerned that this region has recorded an unprecedented rise in crew kidnaps.

The seas off West Africa's coastline are now the most dangerous in the world for shipping, the International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) latest report revealed.According to the report, of the 75 seafarers taken hostage onboard or kidnapped for ransom worldwide so far this year, 62 were captured in the Gulf of Guinea – off the coasts of Nigeria, Guinea, Togo, Benin and Cameroon.The IMB Piracy Reporting Center (IMB PRC) recorded 78 incidents of piracy worldwide and armed robbery against ships in the first half of 2019, compared with 107 incidents for the same period of 2018. Overall, 57 vessels were boarded successfully, representing 73% of all attacks.Pirates killed one person…

A surge in armed attacks against ships around West Africa is pushing up global levels of piracy and armed robbery at sea, warns the International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau (IMB). IMB's Piracy Reporting Center recorded 66 incidents in the first quarter of 2018, up from 43 for the same period in 2017, and 37 in Q1 2016. Worldwide in the first three months of 2018, 100 crew were taken hostage and 14 kidnapped from their vessels. A total of 39 vessels were boarded, 11 fired upon and four vessels hijacked. IMB received a further 12 reports of attempted attacks. The Gulf of Guinea accounts for 29 incidents in 2018 Q1, more than 40 percent of the global total. Of the 114 seafarers captured worldwide, all but one were in this region.

Global maritime piracy activity fell to its lowest level in over two decades, according to the latest International Maritime Bureau (IMB) report. The 180 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships reported to the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) IMB in 2017 was the lowest annual number since 1995, when 188 incidents were reported. According to the IMB, pirates boarded 136 vessels in 2017, while 22 attacks were attempted, 16 vessels fired upon and six vessels hijacked.

Sea piracy plunged to its lowest levels in 18 years in 2016, but kidnappings of crew members for ransom is escalating off west Africa and in the Sulu Seas near the Philippinessayd International Maritime Bureau (IMB). The global maritime watchdog said  in its annual report that more crew were kidnapped at sea in 2016 than in any of the previous 10 years, despite global piracy reaching its lowest levels since 1998. 191 piracy incidents were recorded worldwide, down from 246 in 2015 and the lowest level since 1998. It said pirates hijacked seven vessels and held 151 hostages, down from 15 ships and 271 hostages in 2015. The report said pirates kidnapped 62 people for ransom in 15 separate incidents in 2016. The maritime kidnappings showed a threefold increase from those in 2015.

While the issue of maritime piracy has largely fallen from the public eye, with the rapid evolution of the 24/7/365 news cycle and a never-ending list of new and globally interesting headlines, such as Ebola, there remains concerns of piracy’s effects on the broader maritime market, particularly in SE Asia. According to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) latest piracy report, maritime pirate attacks globally are down for three years running, but there is a worrisome trend of small tanker hijacks by armed gangs escalating in Southeast Asia.

Since 2010, there has been a steadily increasing trend of piracy attacks in Southeast Asia, according to a report released by UNITAR (UN Institute for Training and Research), with 150 separate incidents just from last year alone. After significant strides in reducing the number of hijackings near war-torn Somalia over the past few years, the United Nations declared last month that the epicenter of piracy activity is now in waters off Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The MT Oriental Glory, a Malaysian tanker carrying oil gas cargo, was hijacked two weeks ago in the South China Sea, an apparent and alarming verification that this report is already coming to fruition.

The ICC Commercial Crime Services' International Maritime Bureau (IMB) is warning small tankers to maintain strict antipiracy measures in the South China Sea following a spate of tanker hijackings in the region, GAC reported in its daily Hot Port News report. At least six known cases of coastal tankers being hijacked for their cargoes of diesel or gas oil have been reported since April this year, sparking fears of a new trend in pirate attacks in the area. Up until then, the majority of attacks in the region were vessels boarded for petty theft. The latest hijackings seem to follow a specific modus operandi, where armed pirates seize a small tanker and siphon off its cargo to large bunker barges or other small tankers in a ship-to-ship operation.

A Thai oil tanker reported missing two days ago has been recovered with all of its crew members safe but pirates who hijacked the tanker took its cargo and damaged communications gear, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said on Monday. The MT Orapin 4 lost contact with authorities after departing for Indonesia from a terminal in Singapore on Friday, prompting the IMB to send an alert shortly after. The tanker arrived in Thailand's Sri Racha port on Sunday evening and Thai authorities will be investigating the incident, Noel Choong, the head of IMB's Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Center, told Reuters. Pirates [also] raided a tanker off the coast of Malaysia in late April, taking 3 million litres of diesel. (By Al-Zaquan Amer Hamzah

A Thai diesel oil tanker with 14 crew members en route from Singapore to Indonesia is believed to have been hijacked, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said on Saturday, the second major case in months on one of the world's busiest waterways. "It could be a hijacking. We have sent signals for ships in the area to keep a lookout and the authorities have been alerted," Noel Choong, the head of IMB's Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Center, told Reuters on Saturday. Authorities lost contact with the MT Orapin 4 after it departed from a terminal in Singapore on May 27, according to a report by the IMB. It was headed for Pontianak, Indonesia.

Piracy off the Somali Coast falls to lowest levels in years as result of tough measures on land & at sea. As Kenyan Defense Forces continue to weaken Al-Shabaab on the ground in Somalia, new reports indicates Somali pirates off the coast have similarly been weakened this year. According to the International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Center, “The number of ships signaling attacks by Somali pirates has fallen this year [2012] to its lowest since 2009.” For example, only one ship has reported an attempted attack by Somali pirates from July 2012 to September 2012, compared with 36 incidents in the same three month period last year. Kenya has taken drastic action to combat piracy in the past decade.

Sea piracy worldwide dropped 28 percent in the first quarter of the year as attacks fell sharply in Somalia’s waters thanks to international naval patrols. Pirate attacks intensified, however, in Nigeria and Indonesia. The number of worldwide attacks from January to March dipped to 102 from 142 cases in the same period in 2011, according to the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur. It also said 11 vessels were hijacked and 212 crew members taken hostage, compared with 18 ships seized and 344 people taken hostage a year earlier. In Somalia, there were 43 attacks, including nine vessel hijackings, compared with 97 attacks a year ago. The agency attributed the decline to “disruptive actions and pre-emptive strikes” by navies in the region.

Captain Pottengal Mukundan, Director of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) was invited to MC Northwood to meet with the staff of the NATO Shipping Center to maintain and strengthen the dialogue between the two organizations which work to provide the maritime community with the best information products possible to avoid piracy. The IMB is based in London and is a specialized division within the Commercial Crimes Services of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). IMB's primary mission is to protect the integrity of international trade by seeking out fraud and malpractice. One of the IMB's principal areas of expertise is in the suppression of piracy.

Money and Ships conference to review current situation after global attacks hit all-time high of 266 for the first half of 2011- problem costs industry up to $16 billion annually. Global attacks on ships rose to an all-time high of 266, during the first six months of 2011 up from 196 in 2010 according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). More than 117 ships were attacked and 20 seized, by pirates off the coast of Somalia alone since January 1, 2011, holding 28 ships and 518 hostages for ransom as of the end of April 2011. These issues are to be raised and reviewed by industry experts at Middle East Money and Ships conference, which takes place at the Address Hotel in Dubai Marina on 16 October 2011.

In an effort to combat the rapidly growing levels of piracy and armed robbery against ships around the world, Mace Personal Defense, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Mace Security International, Inc. (OTCQB: MACE) has formed an alliance with Shipboard Defense Systems, Inc. to develop The Shipboard Defense System, a defensive on-board system to repel pirates. The Shipboard Defense System is designed with 300 gallon pressurized tanks that include loop piping installed around a vessel allowing for 100 feet of defensive zones each. When activated, the system disperses a "RAINSTORM" Mace® pepper spray. The Mace® liquid contained in the Shipboard Defense system is formulated with 10% non-flammable OC pepper formula that is effective against those with decreased sensitivity to pain.

As you know, maritime piracy has been in the news lately. As of Feb. 28, the International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Center (http://www.icc-ccs.org/home/piracy-reporting-centre/piracynewsafigures) reported that pirates were holding 33 merchant vessels and 711 crewmembers pending ransoms. In 2011 alone, these gangs captured 13 ships and 243 hostages - an average of more than one ship per week. The seafarers are being used as human shields to forestall rescue attempts by military teams, and are being subjected to increasing levels of severe mistreatment by their captors – including torture and even execution. Despite the presence of scores of warships from multiple navies…

Following a report filed on Sunday August 7, 2011, by the IMB Live Piracy Reporting Center, which saw suspected Somali pirates at 13:02N 043:07E attempt to hijack a vessel off the coast  of Eritrea in large numbers, Neptune Maritime Security raised concerns over this apparent change of tactics. Unfortunately, it would indeed appear that pirates in the area are banding together in an attempt to ‘swarm’ vessels. On Thursday August 18th, the IMB Live Piracy Reporting Centre listed an attempted hijacking* on a bulk carrier underway around 22nm NE of Assab, Eritrea in the Red Sea at 13:16N 043:01E. Interestingly, this is approximately 26.19km North of the attack on August 7th, and could suggest that this large group of pirates have a specific area of operations.

Armed pirates seized a Malaysian palm oil tanker with 39 crew off the coast of — the fourth hijacking in a month, reports said.It was reported that the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in , said the center received a distress signal late about the raid on the MT Bunga Melati Dua and immediately notified Western naval ships patrolling the area. An international terrorism task force dispatched a warship to intercept the tanker, which was heading toward territorial waters. Source:  AP

UNOSAT, the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Operational Satellite Applications Program, released a 3D map of piracy incidents in the Gulf of Aden for 2008. This 3D perspective map illustrates the relative spatial density of reported pirate incidents in the Gulf of Aden for 2008, current as of 21 November. Incidents that have occurred within 5km of the Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA) following implementation on 26 August 2008 are identified. A spatial analysis of the pattern changes in attacks has also been conducted.