Sea piracy and armed robbery of ships is at the lowest number for the first nine months of any year since 1994, the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has said.
According to the IMB latest update, the Gulf of Guinea region and Nigeria also recorded a drastic reduction in all forms of crime.
The IMB reports just 28 incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the first nine months of 2021, in comparison to 46 for the same period in 2020 in the region. Most notably, the IMB says, Nigeria only reported four incidents in the first nine months of 2021, in comparison to 17 in 2020 and 41 in 2018.
Reports of crew kidnappings in the Gulf of Guinea have also dropped with only one crew member kidnapped in Q3 2021, compared to 31 crew members taken in five separate incidents during Q3 2020.
The organization also reports that all Q3 incidents in 2021 were also against vessels at port anchorages compared to Q3 2020 when the average successful kidnapping was approximately 100 nautical miles from land.
According to IMB, the reduction of piracy and armed robbery incidents in the region is a testament to enhanced maritime security and response coordination measures adopted by regional and national authorities.
Despite these gains, IMB warns that the risk to crew remains high in the region and that such efforts must therefore be sustained.
“We welcome the decrease of piracy and armed robbery attacks in the Gulf of Guinea and the efforts taken by maritime authorities in the region,” said Michael Howlett, Director, ICC International Maritime Bureau.
“However, there needs to be sustained efforts to ensure the continued safety of seafarers as they transport essential goods throughout the region. Coastal States must redouble their coordination and security measures to ensure that piracy and armed robbery incidents continue to decline.”
The IMB also highlighted a noticeable reduction in the number of incidents in Indonesian waters. The data shows only six low-level incidents were reported in the first nine months of 2021, compared to 23 incidents during the same period in 2020. “This is the lowest total of reported piracy and armed robbery incidents in Indonesian waters since 1993,” writes the IMB commending the policies and proactive response measures implemented by the Indonesian Marine Police.
While the report highlights strong improvements in some of the most difficult areas in the past, it also notes worrying signs in Singapore Straits and concerns off the coast of Peru. The Singapore Straits reported 20 incidents of armed robbery, the highest number recorded since 1991. Reported incidents are up from 15 in 2020 and just one incident in 2019. While these attacks are low-level and opportunistic, IMB warns that the perpetrators pose a direct threat to seafarers and vessels underway. In four incidents, crew were either threatened, assaulted, or injured.
IMB’s latest global piracy report recorded 97 incidents of piracy and armed robbery for the first nine months of 2021 – the lowest level of reported incidents since 1994. In 2021, IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) reported 85 vessels boarded, nine attempted attacks, two vessels fired upon and one vessel hijacked.
While reported incidents are down to their lowest level in decades, violence against seafarers has continued with 51 crew kidnapped, eight taken hostage, five threatened, three injured, two assaulted and one killed, according to the latest IMB statistics.
