The International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) latest Q2 global piracy report is cause for some celebration.
The report details 68 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships – the lowest total since 1994 – down from 98 incidents during the same period last year.
In the first six months of 2021, IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) reported 61 vessels boarded, four attempted attacks, two vessels fired upon and one vessel hijacked.
“However, despite the overall decline in reported incidents, violence against crews has continued, with 50 crew kidnapped, three each threatened and taken hostage, two assaulted, one injured and one killed throughout the first half of 2021.”
While the reduced numbers of reported incidents are welcome, the IMB cautions against complacency. Vessels were boarded in 91% of the reported incidents.
Cautious gains in Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea continues to be particularly dangerous for seafarers, with 32% of all reported incidents taking place in the region, according to the IMB. The region accounted for all 50 kidnapped crew and the single crew fatality.
The number of kidnappings in this region in the last quarter is the lowest since Q2 2019, but pirates continue to target all vessel types. Fishing vessels have been hijacked and later used as mother ships to target other merchant vessels.
In early June, a bulk carrier was approached by a skiff with six pirates while transitioning through the region at around 210nm off the coast of Lagos. In early June, and a bulk carrier was approached by a skiff with six pirates while transitioning through the region at around 210nm off the coast of Lagos.
Knife attacks in Singapore Straits
The Singapore Straits recorded 16 incidents in comparison to 11 during Q2 in 2020. These attacks are considered opportunistic in nature, but IMB warns that in seven incidents the perpetrators were armed with knives. In three separate incidents, seafarers were reported to have been either threatened, assaulted or injured.
