According to the report published by the piracy reporting center based in Malaysia, 269 attacks were recorded worldwide last year, compared to 239 in 2006. Last year, pirates hijacked 18 vessels, killed five crew members, and took 292 people hostage, while three are still missing. In 72 cases, the attackers opened fire. While only 17 people were injured in 2006, 64 sailors were wounded by pirate bullets in 2007.
According to IMB Director Pottengal Mukundan, this surge in piracy is primarily linked to the increase in maritime banditry off Nigeria and Somalia. The report states that pirates attacked 42 vessels off Nigeria last year and 31 ships in Somali waters. In 2006, there were 12 and 10 attacks respectively in these areas. Moreover, in 2007, the pirates were much better armed, the document notes. Specifically, off Somalia, pirates fired grenade launchers and automatic weapons, and when approaching victims on large ships, they launched small boats and craft.
As The Associated Press notes, Somalia's coastline stretches over 3,000 kilometers, making it the longest on the African continent. Key routes from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean pass near the country's borders, where bloody clashes have continued for 16 years. The government formed in 2004, with the help of the UN, is trying to establish control over territorial waters, but Somalia still has no navy of its own. Therefore, the IMB calls on mariners to choose routes as far as possible from these areas.
On the west coast of Africa, in Nigeria, which is the regional leader in oil production, attacks by sea marauders occur in several restive areas, such as the port city of Lagos on the coast of the Gulf of Benin. According to the IMB, piracy here is often carried out by separatists pursuing political goals.
The highest level of maritime banditry, as before, is recorded in Indonesia, where 43 pirate attacks occurred last year, although in 2006 there were 7 more. However, sea robbery in Indonesia, according to the IMB, was not significant in scale.
Maritime banditry also declined off the coast of Bangladesh and in the Malacca Strait, which separates Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The most significant decrease is observed in the Bangladesh area, where only 15 attacks were committed in 2007, compared to 47 vessels that fell victim to pirates in 2006.
RIA Novosti