Somali pirates remain a threat to merchant ships and have been responsible for the kidnap of dozens of sailors this year, warned a piracy report of the ICC International Maritime Bureau published on Tuesday, like reported by thenational.ae .
The hijacking of an Indian dhow in early April was one of five incidents reported off Somalia in addition to pirates opening fire on three vessels and a bulk carrier boarded by pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
The second quarter IMB report says the incident reveals that Somali pirates “retain the skills and capacity to attack merchant ships far from coastal waters.”
It urges ship masters to maintain high levels of vigilance when transiting the high-risk area.
Somali pirates took 39 sailors hostage from January to June 2017 marking the highest amount of violence against seafarers during the first half of this year.
This was followed by pirates off Nigeria’s coast kidnapping 31 seafarers over the same period.
Other violence against sailors included crew being threatened, injured and killed by pirates off Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Peru, Venezuela and Sierra Leone.
“The international navies are patrolling these waters to understand the patterns of life, which will allow them to identify and deter an suspected pirate activity,” the report said about the sea off Somalia, the Gulf of Aden and the Red sea.
Advising the shipping community to stay alert, the report said, “As the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre continues to monitor the situation in the region, it cautions ship owners and masters against complacency. Somali pirates still have the capability and capacity to carry out attacks.”
The hijacking of the UAE managed tanker Aris 13 enroute from Djibouti to Mogadishu on March 13 ended a five year lull in piracy attacks off Somalia’s coast after the crude oil tanker Smyrni was held in May 2012.
As of 30 June this year, the IMB’s Piracy Reporting Center has received a total of 87 incidents.
Globally the number of piracy incidents have declined with 97 incidents over the same period last year.
