Piracy, Sea Robbery, and Threats to Shipping in 2021

As always, the International Chamber of Commerce's Commercial Crime Service International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) does a great job of carrying out its mission:

PRC acts as a single point of contact for shipmasters anywhere in the world whose vessels have been attacked or robbed by pirates. All information received is immediately relayed to the local law enforcement agencies requesting assistance. Information is also immediately broadcast to all vessels in the Ocean region, providing vital intelligence and increasing awareness.

We share information with the IMO, governmental, inter-governmental and law enforcement agencies including industry bodies to understand the nature of piracy and reduce its effects on crew, vessel and cargo.

Not the least of these functions is its Live Piracy Map service including an annual look at where such event took place, the images that follow are screen captures of the 2021 map:

All oceans:

Africa and Gulf of Guinea

North Arabian Sea/Indian Ocean

Southeast Asia/Singapore Strait

Americas

2020 World

Not like the heyday of the piracy off Somalia, but it's a steady problem for shipping.

From 2011 - off Somalia

Piracy and Armed Robbery 2018 over 2017

From the excellent folks at the International Chamber of Commerce Commercial Crime Services International Maritime Bureau's Live Piracy Map, IMB Piracy & Armed Robbery Map 2018 a look at how piracy and armed robbery looked in 2018 as compared to 2017:

2018

2017

Drilling down to the area offshore Nigeria in the Gulf of Guinea for 2018:

And in the South China Sea Region:

Worth noting that the Arabian Sea especially off Somalia, once a hotbed of piracy, has not been very active in either 2017 or 2018.

On the other hand, the war in Yemen has spilled over to impact some shipping, as has been noted throughout the year.

Piracy 2018 (thus far) and 2017

Courtesy of the ICC's IMB Piracy and Armed Robbery Map

2018 as of 10 April

2017 Total:

2017 Africa/Indian Ocean:

2017 Asia:

2017 Americas:

Piracy Down, Crimes Against Merchant Sailors Still Present

As the ICC's International Maritime Bureau puts it "Threat to seafarers remains despite piracy clampdown" and support their statement with numbers:

IMB's latest global piracy report shows that pirates armed with guns or knives took 110 seafarers hostage in the first nine months of 2016, and kidnapped 49 crew for ransom. Nigeria, a growing hotspot for violent piracy and armed robbery, accounts for 26% of all captures, followed by Indonesia, Malaysia, Guinea and Ivory Coast.
But with just 42 attacks worldwide this quarter, maritime piracy is at its lowest since 1996. IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre (IMB PRC) has recorded 141 incidents so far this year, a 25% drop from the same period in 2015. A total of 111 vessels were boarded, five were hijacked, 10 were fired at, and a further 15 attacks were thwarted.
"We are encouraged by the efforts of national and international authorities - and the shipping industry - to keep piracy down. But clearly the threat to crew being taken hostage remains, and it is therefore necessary for shipmasters and response agencies to remain vigilant," said Pottengal Mukundan, Director of IMB, which has monitored world piracy since 1991.

It's a dangerous world and some places and jobs are more dangerous than others.

Sea Piracy Drops to 21 Year Low

Sea piracy drops to 21-year low, IMB reports:

Piracy and armed robbery at sea has fallen to its lowest levels since 1995, despite a surge in kidnappings off West Africa, according to a new report from the International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

IMB's global piracy report shows 98 incidents in the first half of 2016, compared with 134 for the same period in 2015. When piracy was at its highest, in 2010 and 2003, IMB recorded 445 attacks a year.

In the first half of 2016, IMB recorded 72 vessels boarded, five hijackings, and a further 12 attempted attacks. Nine ships were fired upon. Sixty-four crew were taken hostage onboard, down from 250 in the same period last year.

"This drop in world piracy is encouraging news. Two main factors are recent improvements around Indonesia, and the continued deterrence of Somali pirates off East Africa," said Pottengal Mukundan, Director of IMB, whose global Piracy Reporting Centre has supported the shipping industry, authorities and navies for 25 years.

A great deal of the credit for the reduction in piracy should go to the IMB and its reports on the dangers to mariners of crimes at both at sea and in port which helped gather world-wide attention to the problem.

Especially useful have been the "Live Piracy Reports" and "Live Piracy Maps" which allow rapid assessment of trends in areas around the world. Here's the current 2016 Piracy Map showing piracy and armed robbery incidents occurring to date:

A change in tactics of sea criminals is noted:

Despite global improvements, kidnappings are on the rise, with 44 crew captured for ransom in 2016, 24 of them in Nigeria, up from 10 in the first half of 2015.

"In the Gulf of Guinea, rather than oil tankers being hijacked for their cargo, there is an increasing number of incidents of crew being kidnapped for ransom," said Captain Mukundan.

The Gulf of Guinea accounted for seven of the world's 10 kidnapping incidents, with armed gangs boarding vessels 30 to 120 NM from shore. Nigerian attacks are often violent, accounting for eight of the nine vessels fired upon worldwide. IMB says many further assaults go unreported by shipowners.

IMB reported two further kidnap incidents off Sabah, where tugs and barges were targeted. And in early June, a tug and barge was hijacked off Balingian, Sarawak in Malaysia and its palm oil cargo stolen.

Obviously, the kidnapping of crews is much easier to accomplish than the taking of the entire ship - and, unlike Somalia during its piracy heyday as a failed state, the keeping of hostages is less cumbersome than trying to park a ship somewhere.

Various terrorist groups in Nigeria and the Southeast Asia have turned to hostage taking from vessels to fund their operations. See here and here. From the latter Tanker Operator link referring to the Gulf of Guinea:

“In addition, it may be that for the time being, the drop in oil prices has made oil theft a less lucrative proposition than kidnapping for ransom.
“There are indications that some kidnappers have such belief in their business model that they are increasing their logistical capacity to take in and hold more hostages, possibly for longer than is now normally the case. There are also signs that their understanding of the ‘kidnap market’ is evolving – in other words, they may be able to target their attacks with greater precision and demand higher ransoms."

Of course, there's always the story of Caesar's revenge on the pirates who held him for ransom, as set out here.

Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Shipping in 2015

Once again for 2015 a big hat tip to the ICC International Maritime Bureau for their excellent work in capturing reported attacks on ships. Their work can be found at Live Piracy Map and Live Piracy Report. As they note,

The IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (IMB PRC) is the world’s only non-governmental, manned centre receiving and disseminating reports of piracy and armed robbery 24 hours a day, across the globe.
***
Transparent statistics from IMB PRC is vital to raise awareness and encourage authorities to tackle piracy and armed robbery firmly.

Keeping that in mind, for 2015 here's a look at reported incidents in 2015:

 Compare that to 2014:

Once again, these assaults on shipping include a wide-range of acts, from hijackings to "sneak aboard and steal stuff" and perceived threats. Such attacks tend to occur in major shipping lanes and anchorages, such as the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, but also off the west coast of Africa near major oil ports. IMB guidance on reporting which:

.... follows the definition of Piracy as laid down in Article 101 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and Armed Robbery as laid down in Resolution A.1025 (26) adopted on 2 December 2009 at the 26th Assembly Session of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Zooming in:

West Africa:

Indian Ocean:

 SE Asia:

Straits of Malacca and Singapore:

South China Sea:

 About 240 + incidents in 2015.

2015 Has Been a Slower Year for Sea Pirates

With the slowdown (well, nearly complete stoppage of Somali piracy), 2015 has, in the words of the ICC Commercial Crime Service/International Maritime Bureau here, seen a "reduction"in overall piracy at sea/crimes against mariners:

In Southeast Asia, a piracy crackdown appears to be bearing fruit, with only two hijackings reported in the third quarter of the year. Indonesian and Malaysian authorities have also arrested and in some cases prosecuted, members of product tanker hijacking gangs, notably those behind the MT Sun Birdie and MT Orkim Harmony attacks.

“The robust actions taken particularly by the Indonesian and Malaysian authorities – including the arrest of one the alleged masterminds – is precisely the type of deterrent required” commented P Mukundan, IMB Director.

The two hijackings, on a small product tanker in the Straits of Malacca and a fishing vessel 40-miles west of Pulau Langkawi, were among 47 incidents the IMB PRC recorded globally between July and September.

To date 190 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships have been officially counted this year, the greatest number in Indonesia, which tallied 86 mainly low-level incidents, followed by Vietnam with 19 low-level reports.

While only one new incident of an actual attack was reported for the last quarter in the Gulf of Guinea, IMB believes the real number to be considerably higher.

Nice ICC/IMB graphic:

Yes, it is still dangerous out there.

Nigerians gangs may have halted the cargo-jacking and returned to kidnapping crew, as set out in this Reuters report:

Pirates attacked a Polish-owned cargo vessel off the Nigerian coast and kidnapped its captain and four crew, Polish authorities said, in the first documented incident of its kind in almost year in some of the deadliest shipping lanes on earth.

The Cyprus-registered Szafir was boarded overnight by armed men in two boats, who looted the 10,000-tonne container ship, operator EuroAfrica said.

Somali Pirates: 15-Month High in Pirating?

Reported as Somali Pirate Hijackings Increase to 15-Month High, AKE Says at Bloomberg:

NATO's Map of pirate attacks last 30 days

Somali pirates hijacked 10 ships in March, the most since December 2010, and may attack larger merchant vessels this month, AKE Intelligence said.
**
Somali pirate attacks rose to a record 237 in 2011, with ransoms worth $160 million paid to release 31 hijacked vessels, a One Earth Future Foundation report released Feb. 8 showed. Pirates based in Somalia cost governments and the shipping industry as much as $6.9 billion last year, One Earth estimates.

On the other hand, Reuters reports:

IMB 2012 to date

"PIRACY counter-measures have returned the rate of successful hijackings to pre-2007 levels, a NATO naval officer has told reporters.


Just six ships have been pirated for ransom in the past eight months, from “36 in the preceding eight", Lieutenant Commander Mehmet Elyurek said yesterday aboard the missile frigate Giresun, the Turkish flagship of the force NATO operates off the Horn of Africa, Reuters reported.

The rate of successful hijackings had "almost returned to pre-crisis (2007) levels", added Elyurek, who noted that more merchant ships have turned to armed security guards, razor wire and pirate-pummelling water pumps.
***

They both could be right, though the NATO map of hijackings over the last 3 months only shows 3 hijacked ships, so there is some issue about what counts as a "hijacked ship" and whether NATO is only counting, as indicated in the section I highlighted above, those "pirated for ransom."

Here's what to take from all this - the pirates are still out there and they continue to find ways to expand their search patterns for unprotected ships to hijack.

In looking at the maps, be aware that the NATO red markers are "pirated" vessels and the IMB red markers are "actual attacks."

Somali and Other Piracy in 2012

From our friends at the Internation Maritime Bureau, Piracy News and Figures:

Please see below figures for piracy and armed robbery incidents as reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre in 2012

Worldwide Incidents: updated on 31 Jan 2012:

Total Attacks Worldwide: 37
Total Hijackings Worldwide: 2

Incidents Reported for Somalia:
Total Incidents: 13
Total Hijackings:2
Total Hostages: 28

Current vessels held by Somali pirates:
Vessels: 10 Hostages: 159

You might note that the IMB definition of piracy, while quite valid, is broader from that of the definition in the UNCLOS (piracy occurs on the "high seas"), which makes the IMB definition more inclusive of activity in the national waters of many states.

This has the effect of increasing the number of worldwide attacks in the IMB statistics. To clarify, by far the largest number of attempted and successful "on the high seas" piracy attacks occur in the Indian Ocean and are the handiwork of Somali pirates.

You will note that the IMB has added "armed robbery incidents" (see highlighted section) to its description of its numbers. This is correct, as some activities that occur in national waters that would constitute piracy if they were committed on the high seas are classified as "sea robbery" because of their location.

Also, the IMB includes robberies that occur on ships at anchor in its numbers. Again, quite proper, but something you should be aware of in looking at the numbers. Highlight added by me.

Somali Piracy 2011

From the ICC IMB's Live Piracy Map
Some IMB numbers (there are a couple of changes needed - final report later):

Worldwide Incidents: updated on 16 Dec 2011
Total Attacks Worldwide: 421
Total Hijackings Worldwide: 42

Incidents Reported for Somalia:
Total Incidents: 231
Total Hijackings:26
Total Hostages: 450
Total Killed: 15

Current vessels held by Somali pirates:
Vessels: 10
Hostages: 172

Somali Pirates: Record Levels

Well, after a few days away, here's a bit of frustrating news to welcome me back - the International Maritime Bureau reports "Attacks off the Somali coast drive piracy to record high":

Indian Ocean Area

Piracy at sea hit an all-time high in the first three months of 2011, with 142 attacks worldwide, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) global piracy report revealed today. The sharp rise was driven by a surge in piracy off the coast of Somalia, where 97 attacks were recorded in the first quarter of 2011, up from 35 in the same period last year.

Worldwide in the first quarter of 2011, 18 vessels were hijacked, 344 crew members were taken hostage, and six were kidnapped, IMB reported. A further 45 vessels were boarded, and 45 more reported being fired upon.

“Figures for piracy and armed robbery at sea in the past three months are higher than we’ve ever recorded in the first quarter of any past year,” said Pottengal Mukundan, Director of IMB, whose Piracy Reporting Centre has monitored piracy worldwide since 1991.

IMB 2011 Piracy Map to 10 May 11

In the first three months of 2011, pirates murdered seven crew members and injured 34. Just two injuries were reported in the first quarter of 2006.

Of the 18 ships hijacked worldwide in the first three months of the year, 15 were captured off the east coast of Somalia, in and around the Arabian Sea and one in the Gulf of Aden. In this area alone, 299 people were taken as hostage and a further six were kidnapped from their vessel. At their last count, on 31 March, IMB figures showed that Somali pirates were holding captive 596 crew members on 28 ships.

“We’re seeing a dramatic increase in the violence and techniques used by pirates in the seas off Somalia,” said Captain Mukundan.

He added: “The overwhelming number of vessels hijacked off Somalia took place east and north east of the Gulf of Aden. The positions of some of the attackers’ mother ships are known. It is vital that strong action is taken against these mother ships to prevent further hijackings.”

I guess the NATO/EU/CTF151 and all the other naval forces bobbing about in the Indian Ocean can take some solace in the fact that the numbers might be even higher without their efforts.

That's damning with faint praise.

You should also consider the number of attacks on merchant ships thwarted by armed security teams on board ships that came under attack by pirates . . . the IMB numbers are really only about 1/2 the story.

Piracy Worldwide - A Growing Business

From IMB Piracy Map 2011 to date (click to enlarge)

Reported as Worldwide piracy attacks at record high:

PIRACY hit an all-time high in the first three months of 2011, with 142 attacks worldwide, driven mainly by raids off the lawless Somali coast, a maritime watchdog said.

A total of 97 attacks were recorded off Somalia in the first quarter, up from 35 in the same period last year, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said in a report today.

Worldwide, marauding sea bandits' hijacked 18 vessels and took 344 crew members as hostage, and kidnapped six seafarers from their boats. A further 45 vessels were boarded, and 45 more reported being fired upon.

"Figures for piracy and armed robbery at sea in the past three months are higher than we've ever recorded in the first quarter of any past year," said Pottengal Mukundan, director of the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre, which has monitored incidents worldwide since 1991.

Mukundan said in the first three months of the year, pirates killed seven crew and wounded 34.
***
At the last count, on 31 March, IMB figures showed that Somali pirates were holding captive 596 crew members on 28 ships.

Current NATO warning for the Somali piracy threat:

Jin Chun Tsai 68 (NATO photo)

The current assessment is that there are at least one active dhow PAG in the Arabian Sea. In addition, the fishing vessel JIH CHUN TSAI 68 is still missing and may be active in this area. This is a minimum figure and there remains the possibility that other dhows have got underway from Pirate anchorages and are now also in the area. No other recent activity of note.

Although a low level of activity and recent disruptions of counter piracy forces in the southern Somali Basin, at least one whaler PAG is assessed to be active, possibly along the Kenyan/ Tanzanian coast towards the Mozambique Channel.

Recent reports of piracy in the Gulf of Aden area are showing a slight increase of activity. A mother ship dhow is possibly operating in this area.

In Bab al Mandeb strait area it is not unusual that fishermen carry guns and that they do attempt to fish close to the wake of larger vessels possibly causing confusion.

South China Sea Pirates: Tanker Attack 1 Sept 10

From the ICC CCS IMB Live Piracy Report:

01.09.2010: 0100 LT: Posn: 03:14.3N – 105:19.6E, Off Pulau Mangkai, South China Sea.

Six pirates armed with guns, knives and steel rods boarded a tanker underway. They entered the bridge and took hostage three crew members and tied up their hands. The pirates also took hostage master when he opened his cabin door. Pirates stole ships cash, crew and ship's properties before escaping.

This is the seventh attack on ships in this area since August 1 (see here) and since the beginning of 2010, there has been a surge in attacks in the area (red arrow on map below points to area of most recent attack):

 And, a slight revision to the ReCAAP map of attacks in the the area since 1 August 10:

 These attacks have led to calls to Indonesia to boost patrols in the area, as set out here:

An international maritime group urged Indonesia on Thursday to increase patrols in the South China Sea after pirates attacked nine vessels in less than three weeks.

The International Maritime Bureau said pirates armed with guns and machetes had robbed tankers and bulk carriers of cash and other valuables in the attacks off the Indonesian islands of Mangkai, Anambas and Natuna.

This brought the number of pirate attacks so far this year to 26 in the area, which is a transit route used by vessels heading southeast to the Singapore Straits or northwest to East Asia and the Pacific Ocean. Only seven attacks were reported all of last year.

The IMB is exactly right - while these are not the ship grabbing attacks like those conducted by Somali pirates, they are dangerous (3 sailors injured in August) and disruptive of a major sea lane.

The pirates, once again, are operating in an area where the territorial waters of two countries meet - Malaysia and Indonesia (Pulau Mangkai is Indonesian).

This may become important if Malaysia and Indonesia don't make an agreement covering the area, as noted in older post:  

Some Piracy Law from UNCLOS concerning the right of hot pursuit:

Article 105. Seizure of a pirate ship or aircraft
On the high seas, or in any other place outside the jurisdiction of any State, every State may seize a pirate ship or aircraft, or a ship or aircraft taken by piracy and under the control of pirates, and arrest the persons and seize the property on board. The courts of the State which carried out the seizure may decide upon the penalties to be imposed, and may also determine the action to be taken with regard to the ships, aircraft or property, subject to the rights of third parties acting in good faith.
***
Article 111. Right of hot pursuit
1. The hot pursuit of a foreign ship may be undertaken when the  competent authorities of the coastal State have good reason to believe  that the ship has violated the laws and regulations of that State.  Such pursuit must be commenced when the foreign ship or one of its  boats is within the internal waters, the archipelagic waters, the  territorial sea or the contiguous zone of the pursuing State, and may  only be continued ouside the territorial sea or the contiguous zone if  the pursuit has not been interrupted. It is not necessary that, at the  time when the foreign ship within the territorial sea or the  contiguous zone receives the order to stop, the ship giving the order  should likewise be within the territorial sea or the contiguous zone.  If the foreign ship is within a contiguous zone, as defined in article  33, the pursuit may only be undertaken if there has been a violation  of the rights for the protection of which the zone was established.

2. The right of hot pursuit shall apply mutatis mutandis to violations  in the exclusive economic zone or on the continental shelf, including  safety zones around continental shelf installations, of the laws and  regulations of the coastal State applicable in accordance with this  Convention to the exclusive economic zone or the continental shelf,  including such safety zones.

3. The right of hot pursuit ceases as soon as the ship pursued enters  the territorial sea of its own State or of a third State.
***

Somali Pirates: "Shipping Industry dismisses reports of targeted Somali pirate attacks"

Following up media reports of a "London-based" spy network for Somali pirates (see here), more experts join in doubting that any sort network exists, as in the case of the ICC International Maritime Bureau in

Shipping Industry dismisses reports of targeted Somali pirate attacks:

The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB), in consultation with the International Chamber of Shipping, INTERTANKO and BIMCO, today dismissed a number of recent press reports claiming that pirates off the Somali coast target vessels in advance, allegedly making use of a network of international contacts.

Vessels attacked so far have included a range of vessel types from fishing boats and coastal dhows to bulk carriers and a supertanker. The vessels have been of many diverse flags, crewed by different nationalities, with various cargoes on board destined for a wide range of ports.

Pirates have even attempted to attack naval units mistakenly believing them to be merchant vessels. Pirates target vessels that are easy to board and in their vicinity. If an attack is successfully repelled they move on to another vessel. All the evidence indicates that these are primarily opportunistic crimes. The suggestion that vessels are targeted in advance using shore based intelligence is spurious.

That's not to say pirates are getting info on general ship movements or even on the location of military escort ships, but ....

2008 Was Good Year to Be a Somali Pirate

International Maritime Bureau 2008 Piracy Report, as reported here shows a steep increase in maritime hijackings in 2008, most of which occurred in the waters off Somalia:

. . . In 2008, 49 vessels were hijacked, 889 crew taken hostage and a further 46 vessels reported being fired upon. A total of 32 crew members were injured, 11 killed and 21 missing – presumed dead. Guns were used in 139 incidents, up from 72 in 2007.


The increase is attributed to the number of attacks in the Gulf of Aden with 111 incidents reported on the east coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden. The rise peaked in September with 19 attacks. In October and November there were 15 and 16 vessels attacked respectively. This is an increase of nearly 200% from 2007.
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Nigeria ranked second in the report with 40 reported incidents including 27 vessels boarded, five hijackings and 39 crew members kidnapped. The PRC is also aware of approximately 100 further unconfirmed incidents that have occurred in Nigeria. Under-reporting from vessels involved in incidents in the Nigerian waters remains a great concern.

The Strait of Malacca and the waters off Indonesia, formerly piracy hotbeds, have seen dramatic reductions due to patrols and other efforts aimed at slowing piracy.

The maps, grabbed from the IMB/ICC CCS Live Piracy Maps site represent a drill down in piracy reports from a global perspective to the waters off Somalia to the Gulf of Aden.

You might recall that the IMB uses a definition of piracy that ranges from people climbing onto to anchored ships and stealing small items to the capture of entire ships.

UPDATE: Jane from Armies of Liberation (she sure makes the Yemeni government mad), sends along a link to a series of photos of pirates in the Gulf of Aden from the Boston Globe website.