A report from the International Chamber of Commerce International Maritime Bureau has good and bad news for the global maritime industry. The report on maritime piracy shows a rise in pirate attacks to record levels; however, it also indicated that more and more vessels are successfully thwarting these attacks.
There were 352 reported pirate attacks this year, the bureau said in the report, with Somali pirates being responsible for about 42 percent of them. The report indicates more troubling news, pointing out that Somali pirates are stepping up operations off both the Somali coast and the Horn of Africa, but also in the Red Sea. An attack was launched successfully against a chemical tanker in an Omani port in August.
Despite their stepped up efforts, the pirates are being thwarted more and more. The success rate of foiling these pirate attacks is increasing, with only 24 vessels successfully hijacked thus far in 2011; In 2010, the same time period saw 35 successful attacks. This year, only 12 percent of attempted pirate attacks succeeded, a decline from 28 percent in 2010.
A piracy report from the International Chamber of Commerce International Maritime Bureau has good and bad news for the global maritime industry. The report on maritime piracy shows a rise in pirate attacks to record levels; however, it also indicated that more and more vessels are successfully thwarting these attacks.
There were 352 reported pirate attacks this year, the bureau said in the report, with Somali pirates being responsible for about 42 percent of them. The report indicates more troubling news, pointing out that Somali pirates are stepping up operations off both the Somali coast and the Horn of Africa, but also in the Red Sea. An attack was launched successfully against a chemical tanker in an Omani port in August.
Despite their stepped up efforts, the pirates are being thwarted more and more. The success rate of foiling these pirate attacks is increasing, with only 24 vessels successfully hijacked thus far in 2011; In 2010, the same time period saw 35 successful attacks. This year, only 12 percent of attempted pirate attacks succeeded, a decline from 28 percent in 2010.
The improvement may seem marginal, but hopefully it indicates the beginning of a continued upward trend in the thwarting of pirate attacks. The International Maritime Bureau reports this repelling pirate attacks is a result of an improved naval presence in the waters most trafficked by pirates. Also a contributing factor is the fact that shipping companies are now applying the Best Management Practices correctly in thwarting these pirates.
The maritime law attorneys of Maintenance and Cure represent crew members of vessels involved in pirate attacks around the world.
