IMB reports dramatic growth of pirates’ attacks in 7 years
The number of pirate attacks against merchant ships and seafarers taken hostage reached in 2010 a record mark for the past 7 years, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) global piracy report said.
According to IMB, there were 445 attacks and 1,181 people were taken hostage in 2010, a record surge since 1991, when the agency started to conduct a similar statistic.
“These figures for the number of hostages and vessels taken are the highest we have ever seen,” said Captain Pottengal Mukundan Director of the IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre.
Last year, 49 of all 52 vessels were hijacked off the coast of Somalia with 1,016 crew members taken hostage. A total of 28 vessels and 638 hostages were still being held for ransom by Somali pirates as of 31 December 2010.
“All measures taken at sea to limit the activities of the pirates are undermined because of a lack of responsible authority back in Somalia from where the pirates begin their voyages and return with hijacked vessels,” Mr. Mukundan said.