Somali Pirate attacks in Indian Ocean on the decline

THE NUMBER of successful piracy attacks on ships off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden has decreased this year leading to fears that there will be an escalation in violence against seafarers.

International Maritime Organisation(IMO) secretary general Efthimios Mitropoulos said the ratio of successful pirate attacks against ships travelling off the East African coast and through the Gulf has fallen from 50 per cent in August 2008 to below 20 per cent.

“In the first six months of this year, of 187 attacks (off the Somali coast), only 22 resulted in hijack, indicating that 88 per cent of attacks are being defeated, largely by proper application of best management practice,” Mr Mitropoulos said in London. Best management practice includes ships travelling in protected convoys in the piracy risk areas, taking measures to protect their ships against attacks and in some cases, the use of armed personnel to protect merchant vessels.

He however said the IMO was concerned at the escalating use of violence by pirates. “They have become more aggressive, audacious and better organised.” This view was echoed by International Maritime Bureau director Captain Pottengal Mukundan, who said, “Attacks off the coast of Somalia have been characterised by a greater degree of violence against crews than before.”

The IMO says a lot of work has been put in at UN level into closing loopholes in international law so that pirates can be brought to justice. This has led to convictions in both the Netherlands and the US in recent weeks.

Mr Mitropoulos also said the economic costs of piracy remained huge — estimated between $ 7 billion and $ 12 billion a year — with some of the costs incurred because some shipowners have refused to allow their ships to sail through the Gulf, sending them round the much more expensive route via the Cape of Good Hope.

Meanwhile, the international trade union Nautilus has drawn attention to the rapid increase in the number of pirate attacks in West Africa this year.

The coastal waters of Nigeria, Benin and Cameroon have seen 22 attacks between January and August this year

Source: The East African