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Piracy attacks worldwide during the first three months of 2006 increased
slightly to 61 from 56 for the corresponding period in 2005 but the good
news is that the Straits of Malacca recorded lower incidences.
According to the ICC International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) new Report on
Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships there were 63 crewmembers taken
hostage in 2006, more than double the numbers in 2005, and 13 crewmembers
were kidnapped for ransom.
The report notes continued pirate activity in certain areas, particularly
Somalia and Nigeria, and calls on regional law enforcement agencies to
increase their efforts to combat this menace.
On the positive side, the report says action by law enforcement agencies,
notably in Indonesia and the Malacca Straits, has continued to be effective
and it congratulates both the Malaysian and Indonesian authorities.
“We are pleased to see that the overall level of piracy is not rising
dramatically. We attribute this plateau in attacks to increased law
enforcement activity in high risk areas, awareness, and anti-piracy watches
by shipmasters in risk prone areas,” said IMB Director Captain Pottengal
Mukundan.
“In addition to gathering statistics, the report also indicates the
efficiency of law enforcement in combating piracy. Our findings indicate
that actions taken by law enforcement agencies, notably in the Malacca
Straits and India, have made a major contribution to keeping these figures
down. Co-operation between Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore is now better
than ever before and has played a key role,” added Captain Mukundan.
Indonesia in particular has increased its efforts to defeat piracy by way of
Operation Gurita, a show of force in known hotspots, and through several
intelligence-led actions that resulted in the arrest of several gangs of
pirates.
The figures show a remarkable improvement in India and the Malacca Straits
with no incidents reported in 2006. |
