It’s good news for Indian seafarers with a significant drop reported in pirate attacks on merchant ships off the Somalia coast.
The number of ships signalling attacks by Somali pirates has dropped this year to its lowest since 2009, a report from the International Chamber of Commerce International Maritime Bureau (IMB) revealed. However, the London-based IMB warns seafarers to remain vigilant in the high-risk waters around Somalia, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Violent attacks and hijackings are also spreading in the Gulf of Guinea.
The drop in pirate attacks is good news because a significant number of Indian seafarers sail on global merchant shipping fleets. And, these ships pass along the Somalian coast. However, the worrying factor is that in the past many Indians have been taken as hostage in this region.
As on September 3, there were 43 Indian seafarers held as hostages (details in the table). The Government released an amount of Rs 2.50 lakh to the families of each of the six Indian seafarers held hostage by Somali pirates of the hijacked vessel Iceberg I.
Globally this year, pirates have killed at least six crew members and taken 448 seafarers hostage. The IMB Piracy Reporting Centre recorded that 125 vessels were boarded, 24 hijacked and 26 fired upon. In addition, 58 attempted attacks were reported.
Lowest numbers
The drop in Somali piracy has brought global figures for piracy and armed robbery at sea down to 233 incidents this year – the lowest third quarter total since 2008. In the first nine months of 2012, there were 70 Somali attacks compared with 199 for the corresponding period in 2011. And from July to September, just one ship reported an attempted attack by Somali pirates compared with 36 incidents in the same three months last year.
IMB says policing and interventions by international navies are deterring pirates, along with ships’ employment of Best Management Practice, including the use of armed guards and other onboard security measures.
“It is good news that hijackings are down, but there can be no room for complacency: these waters are still extremely high-risk and the naval presence must be maintained,” said Captain Pottengal Mukundan, Director, IMB, a membership organisation that has monitored world piracy since 1991.
As of September 30, suspected Somali pirates were holding 11 vessels for ransom with 167 crew members as hostages onboard. In addition, 21 kidnapped crew members are being held on land. The IMB says over 20 hostages have now been held for over 30 months.