Indonesian waters remain a threat
Indonesian waters remain a threat
Piracy declined in the first nine months of 2005, though Indonesia remained a global black spot and Somali waters re- emerged as an area where shipping is seriously threatened, an ocean crime watchdog said on Tuesday.
Just days after pictures of pirates attempting an attack on a packed cruise ship off Somalia's coast flashed around the world, the London-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said acts of piracy had fallen to 205 in a nine month period this year, compared with 251 during the same period last year.
It said during that period, pirates boarded 141 merchant ships, hijacked 11 vessels and shot at 15 others. They took 259 mariners hostage and kidnapped 10 people. Twelve people are still missing.
While it welcomed a fall in attacks the agency said there was a worrying rise in crime near Somalia, Iraq and Nigeria.
Somali waters, with 28 attacks since mid-March, including three last weekend, were "out of control", the IMB said.
The weekend attacks included a high profile assault on a U.S.- owned cruise ship carrying more than 300 people, pictures of which where carried by television stations around the world.
Men in two small boats on Saturday approached the Seabourn Cruise Line ship Spirit about 160 km off the Somali coast, fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns at it, then tried to board in an apparent bid to rob passengers and crew. The ship escaped with slight damage.
"After a quiet spell of nearly two years, serious attacks have resumed off the eastern and north-eastern coast of Somalia," said IMB Director, Pottengal Mukundan.
"These attacks take place in international waters and we call upon naval vessels to come to the assistance of the hijacked ships," he said.
Six attacks close to the Basra oil terminal in Iraq, despite the presence of coalition ships, and four attacks around the Bonny River in Nigeria were also troubling, the IMB said.
The agency said Indonesia once again had the highest number of attacks with 61 incidents or nearly a third of the total.
The Malacca Strait sea lane, a crucial route for global trade, saw 10 attacks since February, it said. -- Reuters