A piracy watchdog has advised the shipping industry to not get complacent over piracy despite an overall reduction in serious attacks this year.
The International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Centre (IMB PRC) welcomed the recent spate of arrests and prosecutions as a “positive response to piracy”.
“In Southeast Asia, a piracy crackdown appears to be bearing fruit, with only two hijackings reported in the third quarter of the year,” it said.
“Indonesian and Malaysian authorities have also arrested and in some cases prosecuted, members of product tanker hijacking gangs, notably those behind the Sun Birdie and Orkim Harmony attacks.”
IMB Director Pottengal Mukundan commented: “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.”
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.
The IMB said 190 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships have been officially counted so far this year, the greatest number in Indonesia, with 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.
It also highlighted that no incidents have been noted off Somalia or in the Gulf of Aden this year, previously a piracy hotspot.
IMB says the positive development reflects the combined efforts of navies in the region, along with greater compliance with the Best Management Practices guidelines against Somali piracy, the employment of private security contractors and a stabilizing government.
However, the London-based body urges vessels to maintain vigilance, noting the “increasingly fragile” situation ashore Somalia, with the threat of piracy not “eliminated”.
In the first nine months of 2015 IMB said 154 vessels have been boarded, resulting in 21 attempted attacks and 15 vessels being hijacked.
It added that a total of 226 crew were taken hostage, of which 14 were assaulted, 13 injured, ten kidnapped and one seafarer killed.