World piracy falling but rise in South East Asia attacks cause for concern

The waters in South East Asia have steadily emerged as a new hot spot, with attacks on small tankers rising.

Kuala Lumpur // Global piracy on the high seas fell to an eight-year low last year but the number of successful ship hijackings increased, with attacks rising in South East Asia.

In an annual report released on Wednesday, the International Maritime Bureau said that 245 pirate attacks were recorded worldwide in 2014, down from 264 the year before and nearly half of the 445 reported in 2010 when piracy off Somalia was raging.

Global piracy incidents have tumbled since then due to a multinational naval patrol effort launched off East Africa, as well as improved on-board security.

But the seas off South East Asia, particularly the waterways between Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, have steadily emerged as a new hot spot, with attacks on small tankers rising.

“The global increase in hijackings is due to a rise in attacks against coastal tankers in South East Asia,” IMB director Pottengal Mukundan said in a statement accompanying the report.

“Gangs of armed thieves have attacked small tankers in the region for their cargoes, many looking specifically for marine diesel and gas oil to steal and then sell.”

Twenty-one vessels were hijacked worldwide last year – 16 of which were in South East Asia – compared to 12 in 2013, the report said.

Pirates killed four crew members, injured 13 and kidnapped nine from their vessels globally.

The bulk of all global piracy incidents in 2014 also took place in South East Asia.

The region saw a total of 141 incidents last year, compared with 128 the year before – the vast majority of them in Indonesian waters. These included hijackings, boardings and attempted attacks that were thwarted.

Meanwhile, waters off Somalia saw just three incidents in 2014, down from 160 in 2011, the IMB report said.

Pirates have plagued South East Asian waters for centuries, but stepped-up regional cooperation and maritime patrols had significantly reduced the problem in recent years. The IMB has warned recently that effort needs to be strengthened once again.

The region is home to vital shipping lanes such as the South China Sea and the Malacca Strait separating Malaysia and Indonesia, through which one-third of global trade passes.

* Agence France-Presse