The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) received the lowest number of reported incidents for the first half of any year since 1994.  

 

IMB’s latest global piracy report details 68 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships – the lowest  total since 1994 – down  from 98 incidents during  the same period last year. In  the  first six months of 2021, IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) reported 61 vessels boarded, four attempted attacks, two vessels fired upon and one vessel hijacked. 

 

Despite the overall decline in reported incidents, violence against crews has continued with 50 crew kidnapped,  three  each  threatened  and  taken  hostage,  two  assaulted,  one  injured  and  one  killed throughout the first half of 2021.  

While  the  reduced  numbers  of  reported  incidents  is  welcome,  the  IMB  PRC  continues  to  caution against complacency. Vessels were boarded in 91% of the reported incidents.  

 

 

The  Gulf  of  Guinea  continues  to  be  particularly  dangerous  for  seafarers  with  32%  of  all  reported incidents taking place in the region, according to IMB. The region accounted for all 50 kidnapped crew and the single crew fatality recorded by IMB during the first half of 2021.  

 

The number of kidnappings recorded in the Gulf of Guinea in the last quarter is the lowest since Q2 2019, but pirates continue  to  target all vessel  types  throughout  the region. IMB warns  that  fishing vessels  have  been  hijacked  in  the  Gulf  of  Guinea  and  later  used  as  mother  ships  to  target  other merchant vessels.  

“Whilst IMB welcomes reduced piracy and armed robbery activity in the Gulf of Guinea, the risk to seafarers still remains,” said IMB Director Michael Howlett. “By reporting all incidents to the Regional Authorities and IMB PRC, seafarers can maintain pressure against pirates. 

 

Bringing together maritime response authorities through initiatives – like Nigeria’s Deep Blue Project and Gulf of Guinea Maritime Collaboration Forum – will continue and strengthen knowledge sharing channels and reduce risk to seafarers in the region.” 

 

In early June, a bulk carrier was approached by a skiff with six pirates while transitioning through the region at around 210nm off the coast of Lagos.