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Piracy: IMB Quarterly Report

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau's (IMB) latest quarterly report on Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships recorded a total of 66 incidents worldwide in the first three months of 2013. This is down, markedly, from the 102 incidents reported for the corresponding period in 2012. In the first three months of 2013, four vessels were hijacked, fifty-one vessels were boarded, seven were fired upon and four reported attempted attacks.

Seventy five crew members were taken hostage, fourteen kidnapped and one killed. The Gulf of Guinea represents an area of concern with fifteen incidents recorded, including three hijackings. Nigeria accounted for eleven incidents in the region.

Guns were reported to have been used in at least nine of these attacks. An offshore supply vessel with fifteen crew members was also hijacked. One crew member subsequently died as a result of a gunshot wound after a chemical tanker was fired upon at Lagos anchorage.

A further fourteen crew were kidnapped from four different vessels in Nigeria. At the time of the kidnappings, all the vessels were reported to be underway. Further west in Africa, three incidents were recorded in the Ivory Coast, including the hijacking of two tankers. In early February, one such tanker was taken while underway, 70 nautical miles (nm) south of Abidjan and routed to Nigerian waters.

On the eastern side of Africa, Somalia recorded five incidents this quarter including the hijacking of a fishing vessel and its 20-member crew. In this case, the crew were freed by naval forces before the vessel reached Somalia. In the Indian Ocean, two vessels were fired upon. There were also two attempted attacks against Aframax-sized tankers in the Gulf of Aden.

Somali pirates continue to hold five vessels with 60 crew members on board and an additional 17 are being held captive on land. The threat of Somali piracy remains ever present, with a recent incident reported up to 400 nm east of Mogadishu this quarter. Twelve pirates were subsequently apprehended by naval forces after the target vessel managed successively to foil the initial attack.

The presence and response of the navies ensured that a hijacked Iranian fishing vessel was promptly released. These and other interdictions continue to highlight the important role played by the navies in keeping these incidents under control.

Outside of African waters, Indonesia, with 25 incidents, was the country that recorded the highest number of attacks. While these were mainly low level thefts, vessels were boarded in 24 of the incidents, highlighting the need for vigilance in these waters. Vessels were either berthed or anchored in 22 of the boarding incidents, and underway in the other two incidents. Vessels anchored at Dumai, Balikpapan and Belawan were targeted six, five and three times respectively.

IMB strongly urges all shipmasters and owners to report all actual, attempted and suspicious piracy and armed robbery incidents to the IMB
Piracy Reporting Centre.

Source: Extracts from International Chamber of Commerce International Maritime Bureau (http://www.icc-ccs.org) news release dated 15 April 2013.