Kuala Lumpur, Jan 16: Piracy on the high seas rose
to unprecedented levels in 2008, due to the hijacking crisis
off Somalia where pirates are now better armed and more
violent, a maritime watchdog said on Friday.
"The 2008 statistics surpass all figures recorded by the
piracy reporting centre since it began its worldwide reporting
function in 1991," said International Maritime Bureau (IMB)
director Pottengal Mukundan.
"This is due primarily to the situation in Somalia and
the Gulf of Aden with a total of 42 vessels hijacked and 815
crew taken hostage," he said in an annual report.
Thirteen of those vessels are still being held along with
242 crew.
Across the globe, 49 vessels were hijacked in 2008, 889
crew were taken hostage, 11 were killed and 21 are missing and
presumed dead, while another 46 vessels were fired on.
The IMB said that the past year had seen more audacious
attacks, including the seizure of a giant supertanker, and
raids carried out further from shore than ever before.
It said that pirates are "better armed and prepared to
assault and injure the crew" and that the number of incidents
in which guns have been used had jumped to 139, from 72 in
2007.
The maritime watchdog, which responds to pirate attacks
from its reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur, praised the role of
the international coalition of navies that has been patrolling
the area in a bid to protect shipping.
"We... hope that more governments will continue to devote
more assets to the region and provide adequate Rules of
Engagement to naval commanders to allow them to actively
deploy in seizing pirate vessels, arms and related
equipment."
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, January 16, 2009, 00:00