Piracy falling fast across Asia, figures show

From Nikkei Asian Review (Sep 9): Piracy falling fast across Asia, figures show



Filipino Coast Guard personnel arrest mock pirates during a combined maritime exercise by Philippine and Japanese Coast Guards in the waters off Manila Bay on July 13. © AP          

Maritime piracy attacks in Asia fell by more than two-thirds in the first half of 2016 compared to a year ago, suggesting that regional efforts to reduce the number of incidents are making headway amid a global decline in the number of ships seized or ambushed.

Even so, Indonesia remains a hotspot that in the first half of the year saw about one quarter of all piracy attacks reported worldwide take place in its waters. In addition, the waters between Malaysia and Indonesia remain dangerous because of kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group, which recently executed two Canadian hostages and is holding at least 10 more for ransom.

"A search on our database shows 141 incidents [worldwide] this year until Sept. 5," said Natasha Brown, an official at the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency. There were 223 incidents in the comparable period of 2015, indicating "a downward year on year trend," Brown told the Nikkei Asian Review.

The International Maritime Bureau, part of the International Chamber of Commerce, also reported that pirate attacks were down significantly in 2016 compared with a year ago, with only 98 attacks worldwide in the first six months of 2016 -- the lowest in 21 years.

"[A] reduction in attacks in the Gulf of Guinea and the continued reduction in attacks off Somalia accounts for this," said IMB director Pottengal Mukundan. After years of kidnappings and hostage-taking by Somali pirates -- in some cases providing material for Hollywood movies -- a NATO-led security operation has resulted in much-reduced levels of piracy around East Africa.

The IMB's Piracy Reporting Center in Kuala Lumpur, set up in 1992, is often the first to hear of pirate attacks, with a team standing by around the clock to field reports from distressed captains.

"All information received is immediately relayed to the local law enforcement agencies, requesting assistance. Information is also immediately broadcast to all vessels in the ocean region, providing vital intelligence and increasing awareness," the IMB says on its website.

Many of the calls received by the IMB come from vessels passing through strategically and economically-important waters such as the South China Sea and the 900km Straits of Malacca, where pirates have for centuries posed a threat to shipping and commerce.

Other key organizations involved in monitoring piracy have lauded the trends in Asia. Among them is the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia, an intergovernmental body representing 20 countries that was set up a decade ago to improve anti-piracy coordination across the continent.

"There has been an improvement in the piracy and armed robbery situation in Asia, with the largest decrease in number of incidents during January-June 2016 compared to the same period in the past four years of 2012-2015," said the organization, which is referred to as Recaap.
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