Number of Piracy Attacks Jumps 36 Percent Due to Somali Pirates

The global incidence of piracy surged 36 percent on-year in the first half of the year due mainly to more attacks carried out by Somali pirates, Yonhap news agency reported quoting the government as saying Thursday.

Citing a report by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said piracy attacks numbered 266 in the January-March period, with 163 involving attacks made by Somali pirates, up 63 percent from a year earlier.

A total of 29 ships were hijacked with 495 sailors taken captive in the six-month period, with injuries and deaths caused by the attacks rising to 46 people from 17 a year earlier, the report showed. Despite the spike in attacks by Somali pirates, the actual number of vessels being hijacked off the eastern coast of Africa fell to 13 percent of all ships captured, compared with 27 percent a year earlier.

The organization under the International Chamber of Commerce attributed the fall to better precautions being taken by ships sailing in the Indian Ocean near Somalia, and the presence of the international naval force in the region to protect commercial shipping.

Besides piracy near Somalia, the IMB reported 50 attacks by outlaws operating near Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore that resulted in three ships being hijacked.

(bernama)