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International Chamber of
Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB)
has launched an online piracy map which gives
users a visual on the nature and location of
attacks to help them better understand and track
incidents.
The IMB says ship masters and owners now have a
new tool to help them prepare voyages through
piracy hotspots. The map can be accessed on the
IMB website (www.icc-ccs.org).
The map is available as either a satellite view,
provided by Google, a plain view (indicating
countries and borders), or a combination of
both. Viewers see not only the relief of the
coastline but also the bays and coves from which
pirates may initiate their attack.
“It is not easy to get an immediate picture of
the piracy risk of an area by reading lengthy
reports full of data and numbers,” said IMB
Director Pottengal Mukundan. “We hope the map,
coupled with the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC)
alerts, will help seafarers spot the warning
signs and better prepare for possible attacks.”
While the map is primarily aimed at helping ship
owners, managers and their crews, Captain
Mukundan noted that law enforcement officials
will find it useful in deciding where best to
concentrate their searches for pirates, and
researchers will benefit from actually seeing
the geographical circumstances of piracy attacks
to predict trends.
This user-friendly map Red balloons mark actual
attacks while yellow balloons show attempted
attacks. Clicking on these initiates a pop-up
with a summary of the attack including the date
and time, the type of vessel attacked, the type
of attack and the number of crew affected.
As with IMB’s quarterly and annual piracy
reports, the information comes directly from
ship masters and ship owners. Once verified by
IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre new attacks or
attempts will be added to the map within 24
hours.
Users can click on the year of their choice to
bring up the corresponding map of attacks and
their details for previous years, making visual
comparisons of hot-spot activity much easier to
understand.
Feedback on the map and suggestions for future
development are welcome and should be directed
to the IMB directorate. |
