Worldwide maritime piracy on the rise
Source: Agencies |
October 19, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SHIP hijackings worldwide hit a five-year high in the first nine months of this year, led by Somali pirates striking further away from the country's coast to avoid naval patrols, a maritime watchdog said yesterday.
The International Maritime Bureau said its piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur recorded 39 hijackings from January to September this year, up from 34 in the same period last year and only 11 in 2006.
The total number of piracy incidents globally, which includes attacks and boardings, dropped slightly by 5.5 percent from 306 in the first nine months of 2009 to 289 this year, the bureau said in its quarterly report.
"Somali pirates are striking further away from well-°?patrolled waters such as the Gulf of Aden to larger adjacent seas," said Noel Choong, head of the IMB's piracy reporting centre.
Heavily armed Somalian pirates, equipped with automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades, were responsible for 35 of the 39 hijackings this year.
The total number of piracy incidents hit a six-year high of 406 last year due to attacks off the Somali coast.
A strong foreign naval presence in the Gulf of Aden since the start of 2009 led to a drop in incidents in the area from 100 in January to September last year to 44 this year.
"However, this is a vast area and the navies cannot °?realistically cover it. The naval presence does however remain vital to the control of piracy in this area," said °?Pottengal Mukundan, the director of the IMB.
The South China Sea was an area of concern with 21 ships boarded this year, a three-fold increase on last year.
The International Maritime Bureau said its piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur recorded 39 hijackings from January to September this year, up from 34 in the same period last year and only 11 in 2006.
The total number of piracy incidents globally, which includes attacks and boardings, dropped slightly by 5.5 percent from 306 in the first nine months of 2009 to 289 this year, the bureau said in its quarterly report.
"Somali pirates are striking further away from well-°?patrolled waters such as the Gulf of Aden to larger adjacent seas," said Noel Choong, head of the IMB's piracy reporting centre.
Heavily armed Somalian pirates, equipped with automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades, were responsible for 35 of the 39 hijackings this year.
The total number of piracy incidents hit a six-year high of 406 last year due to attacks off the Somali coast.
A strong foreign naval presence in the Gulf of Aden since the start of 2009 led to a drop in incidents in the area from 100 in January to September last year to 44 this year.
"However, this is a vast area and the navies cannot °?realistically cover it. The naval presence does however remain vital to the control of piracy in this area," said °?Pottengal Mukundan, the director of the IMB.
The South China Sea was an area of concern with 21 ships boarded this year, a three-fold increase on last year.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
