Number of pirate attacks at 30-year low in early 2023

HAMBURG/BERLIN - The number of pirate attacks on the world's oceans fell to a 30-year low at the beginning of 2023, according to data from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

According to the data, there were 27 pirate attacks and armed robberies on ships between January and March - compared to 37 incidents in the same period last year, reported German news agency dpa.

Twenty five ships were boarded in the process, the bureau, which is part of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), said on Wednesday. This is the lowest number of reported piracy incidents since 1993.

"Almost 85 per cent of international trade is conducted by sea," said ICC Germany Secretary General Oliver Wieck. "Coordinated international cooperation to combat piracy is therefore essential for functioning global trade." "The latest figures are encouraging, but there is no reason to sit back and relax. In order to ensure protection against maritime piracy in the long term and sustainably, we must continue to push forward with global cooperation." Despite the decline, the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) warns that the potential for violence by criminals at sea remains high. "Six crew members have been kidnapped, two taken hostage, two threatened and one person assaulted," the PRC said.

As a result, it said, coastal protection agencies and international naval forces must continue their operations in the affected regions.

The Gulf of Guinea, the Singapore Strait and South America are among the hotspots of maritime piracy. "The situation remains critical at the Callao anchorage in Peru. There were five reported incidents there in the first quarter of 2023, the same number as in previous years," it said. - BERNAMA-dpa