Piracy around the globe
In its annual piracy report for 2023, the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) recorded 120 incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships, five more than in 2022. In 2023, 105 vessels were boarded, nine attacks attempted, four vessels hijacked and two fired upon.
Crew safety is an issue of growing concern, as the number of crew taken hostage or kidnapped increased from 41 to 73 and from two to 14, respectively. A further ten crew members were threatened, four injured and one assaulted in 2023.
In addition, in December 2023, the report registered the first successful hijacking of a vessel off the coast of Somalia since 2017. Despite the still comparatively low numbers of incidents reported in the Gulf of Guinea, with 22 in 2023 compared to 19 in 2022, these waters accounted for three of the four globally reported hijackings.
The Singapore Straits also remain an area of concern due to the high number of incidents. While considered low level opportunistic crimes, 95% of the related incidents were successful, with 37 incidents overall in 2023 compared to 38 in 2022.
Fourteen incidents were reported from vessels at Callao anchorage in Peru. Other ports affected in South America were Macapa anchorage in Brazil, and Cartagena and Puerto Bolivar anchorages in Colombia. (cd)