An unnamed general cargo vessel was attacked and boarded by gunmen on November 11, 2016 off the coast of the Basiland Island, Philippines, according to the Commercial Crime Services Piracy Report.
It was reported that the ship’s master raised the alarm when ten armed persons approached the vessel; the men then boarded and took the crew hostage.
Six men were kidnapped as the gunmen got away with valuable property from on board, at this point authorities took the ship over and escorted it to safety.
One man was injured in the incident, believed to be a crew member, and there is no word of any other injuries or any fatalities; the fate of the kidnapped crew members is unknown at this point.
This incident comes right after PTI reported that although piracy attacks as a whole had seen a decrease, the number of kidnappings during attacks had doubled, implying kidnapping is a lucrative method of acquiring good for pirates.
Piracy and other security threats have increased dramatically in recent years in the region of and surrounding the contested South China Sea region; earlier in 2016 it was predicted by experts that piracy levels in the waters around Indonesia could reach the levels of those off the coast of Somalia.