A total of 623 global incidents were registered although Somali piracy figures declined.
Reflecting a geographical shift in maritime crime, the Americas overtook Africa in terms of absolute numbers of incidents (163 versus 162), with Asia keeping the lion’s share with 269 incidents.
The report comes a week after a Greek officer was killed by pirates off Nigeria’s Bonny island.
Asia accounted for the majority of the attacks worldwide and it also posted the highest level of piracy seen for over a decade.
Data from Control Risks showed that waters off Indonesia and Bangladesh are the most dangerous for local and commercial vessels.
The specialist risk consultancy forecasted that more maritime operators are likely to be affected by broader political, operational and security risks in 2015.
It highlighted geopolitical uncertainty over the Russian sanctions and more activist protests due to Arctic drilling projects.
