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KUALA LUMPUR - WORLDWIDE acts of piracy shot up by 10 per cent last year, the first increase in four years, due to the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria and Somalia, a watchdog said on Wednesday.
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said the attacks were also becoming more violent, with guns being used 35 per cent more than in 2006.
However, in Indonesia, which in past years was plagued by pirates, the number of attacks continued to decrease, from 50 in 2006 to 43 last year, thanks to concerted efforts by authorities there, it said.
The IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur recorded 263 attacks on the high seas in 2007, compared to 239 the year before.
Eighteen vessels were hijacked, five crew members were killed, 292 taken hostage, 63 kidnapped and five were still missing.
'The nature of the attacks indicates that the pirates/robbers boarding the vessels are better armed and they have shown no hesitation in assaulting and injuring the crew,' it said.
Attacks in Nigeria jumped from 12 in 2006 to 42 in 2007, while in Somalia they rose from 10 in 2006 to 31 last year.
'We are very worried about the situation in Nigeria and Somalia at the moment,' the reporting centre's chief Noel Choong said.
'Although coalition forces have been able to patrol the waters off Somalia and there is some stability there, the situation still remains critical, especially in Nigeria where the violence has increased dramatically,' he said.
The report said 35 vessels were boarded in Nigeria last year with 25 attacks in the port city of Lagos alone.
The IMB commended Indonesian authorities for their 'positive action' to reduce attacks, particularly in the strategic Malacca Straits, saying that many of the latest incidents were merely low-level thefts from vessels.
'The figures for the Malacca Straits have dropped from 38 attacks in 2004 to only seven last year as a result of more patrols by the governments of the littoral states,' Mr Choong said.
'But you can never totally eliminate piracy as these groups lie low only because of the presence of such patrols,' he added.
Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia border the maritime corridor which handles 30 per cent of all sea transport globally.
The IMB also singled out Bangladesh, which it said 'should be applauded' for the reduction in the number of attacks from 47 in 2006 to 15 in 2007. -- AFP
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