Gulf of Guinea remains pirate hot spot
The latest figures from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) in London, an organisational unit of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), show an increase in piracy attacks and armed robbery in 2020. Compared to 2019 with 162 pirate attacks, the number rose to 195 in 2020.
The IMB Piracy Reporting Center (PRC) reports that three ships were hijacked, eleven ships were shot at, 20 attack attempts were successfully repelled and 161 ships were boarded. The growing hot spots in piracy attacks are the Gulf of Guinea as well as the Strait of Singapore.
135 crew members were kidnapped from their ships last year, with the Gulf of Guinea being responsible for over 95% of these incidents. This means that the 130 kidnappings in the region, spread over 22 separate incidents, mark a new record. (cd)