Kuala Lumpur: Piracy on the world’s seas has reached a five-year low, with 297 ships attacked in 2012, compared with 439 in 2011, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) global piracy report revealed today. Worldwide figures were brought down by a huge reduction in Somali piracy, though East and West Africa remain the worst hit areas, with 150 attacks in 2012. Of concern locally is the continued growth of incidents in Indonesia.
Across the Indonesian archipelago, there were 81 reports of petty theft, accounting for more than a quarter of global incidents in 2012. Thirty vessels were attacked in the last quarter of 2012. Reports from Indonesia have increased yearly since 2009. Vessels were boarded in 73 incidents and 47 crew members taken hostage. Fourteen incidents were reported at Belawan by ships anchored or berthed.
Elsewhere, in Southeast Asia four vessels were hijacked, including a Malaysian tanker which was subsequently recaptured in Vietnam in the last quarter of 2012. [16/01/13]
