Maritime piracy has dropped by 44% since 2011, as a surge in ship hijackings was offset by a continuous decline in attacks off the coast of Somalia.
According to the Journal of Commerce, the number of global hijackings on small tankers off South East Asian coasts rose from 12 in 2013 to 21 in 2014.
This is in addition to the 183 actual and attempted piracy and robbery incidents on ships in Asian waters in 2014, up from 150 in 2013.
However, despite this rise, maritime piracy as a whole has dropped to an eight-year low since Somalian piracy peaked in 2011.
Pottengal Mukundan, Director of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), a Singapore-based Piracy Reporting Centre, said: “Gangs of armed thieves have attacked small tankers in the region, for their cargoes, mainly looking specifically for marine diesel and gas oil to steal and then sell.”
Somali pirates were involved in 11 attacks in 2013 and the IMB said the threat off the nation’s coast has not been eliminated.
Maritime piracy is a serious threat to the safety of shippers, with just under 2,000 shipping related attacks recorded during 2009-2014.
Asian Piracy Soars amid Global Decline. (Source: IHS Maritime)
