THE NUMBER of piracy incidents reported to the International Maritime Bureau has dropped to its lowest level since 1994, but the bureau has flagged concerns about violence towards crewmembers.
IMB recorded 79 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the first nine months of 2024, down from 99 incidents in the same period last year.
A new report from the bureau indicates 62 vessels were boarded between January and September this year. Six were hijacked, nine faced attempted attacks, and two were fired on.
Perpetrators successfully gained access to the vessel in 86% of incidents, most of which occurred at night.
IMB director Michael Howlett said the overall decline in reported piracy and armed robbery incidents is encouraging.
“This is an important time to reinforce our message not to be complacent, and for vessel owners and operators to adhere to IMB guidelines,” he said.
“We commend governments and law enforcement for their excellent work, which has made this improvement possible.”
But IMB has warned of ongoing threats to crew safety, with 111 crew taken hostage, 11 kidnapped and three threatened during the nine-month period.
Perpetrators were armed with weapons, guns and knives in 45 of the reported incidents.
Risks by region
IMB has highlighted the Indonesian Archipelago as an area of concern with a “steady rise” in the number of reported incidents.
There were 17 incidents in the region between January and September this year, compared with 12 in 2023 and nine in 2022. Twenty-seven crew were taken hostage and one crew was threatened.
Two hijackings were reported in February and September, both South of Tanjung Malatayur, Central Kalimantan, where oil cargoes were stolen from barges under tow.
“IMB calls upon local authorities to increase their on-water presence to act as a deterrent to these crimes,” the bureau said.
But there have been fewer incidents in the Gulf of Guinea, Somalia and Singapore Straits so far this year.
In the first nine months of 2024, 12 incidents were reported in the Gulf of Guinea region – the lowest number of reports since 1996. But IMB again flagged concerns for crew safety, with 11 crew kidnapped and 21 taken hostage.
Eight incidents have been reported in the waters off Somalia and the Gulf of Aden, with three hijacked vessels and two fired upon.
“IMB has not received reports of any maritime piracy incidents from vessels transiting these waters between July and September, possibly due to the prevalence of monsoons,” the bureau said.
Incidents in the Singapore Straits have dropped to 23, compared with 33 over the same period last year. Perpetrators successfully boarded the vessels in 96% of the cases.
“Considering the navigational challenges of these waters, IMB warns that even low-level opportunistic incidents on board such large vessels could potentially increase the risk to navigation,” the bureau said.
IMB urged vessels to continue adhering to the latest best management practices to ensure safety of crew, vessel and cargo.
It also encouraged all shipmasters and owners to report all actual, attempted and suspected global piracy and armed robbery incidents to the Piracy Reporting Centre as a first step to ensuring adequate resources are allocated by authorities to tackle maritime piracy.
