Maritime piracy still poses a threat to shipping despite it reaching its lowest level since 1996, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

“Kidnapping and hostage-taking persists off the coasts of West Africa and South East Asia, despite a 20-year low in piracy,” it said.

The IMB’s latest global piracy report shows that pirates armed with guns or knives took 110 seafarers hostage in the first nine months of 2016, and kidnapped 49 crew for ransom.

Nigeria, a growing hotspot for violent piracy and armed robbery, accounted for 26% of all captures, followed by Indonesia, Malaysia, Guinea and Ivory Coast.

Despite this, the IMB said maritime piracy is at its lowest since 1996 with just 42 attacks worldwide this quarter.

“IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre has recorded 141 incidents so far this year, a 25% drop from the same period in 2015,” the IMB said.

“A total of 111 vessels were boarded, five were hijacked, 10 were fired at, and a further 15 attacks were thwarted.”

The IMB says one factor in reducing global numbers has been the huge drop in low-level incidents off Indonesia.

“Though Indonesia still accounts for 34 of the 110 seafarers taken hostage this year, the total number of attacks has plummeted,” it said.

The IMB recorded 33 attacks off Indonesia in the first nine months of 2016, down from 86 for the corresponding period in 2015.

More vessels of all types are being targeted by armed groups along Nigeria's rivers, anchorages and ports, and up to 118 nautical miles from the coast.

“Though many attacks are believed to go unrecorded, IMB received reports of 31 incidents in the first nine months of 2016, up from 12 in the same period last year,” it said.

“In other Nigerian attacks so far this year, 13 people have been taken hostage onboard, and 29 kidnapped for ransom. In one boarding in July, five crew were captured and the chief officer shot in the head.”

As for Somalia, zero incidents were recorded this quarter and just one attempted attack was recorded in the Gulf of Aden in the first nine months of 2016.

But the situation ashore in Somalia, from where the pirate vessels set off, is said to remain fragile, according to the IMB.