THERE appears to be reasons to hope that the drop in pirate attacks off Somalia means that piracy as serious threat is coming to an end
Somali piracy falls off, many credit presence of shipboard armed guards
THERE appears to be reasons to hope that the drop in pirate attacks off Somalia means that piracy as serious threat is coming to an end as more ships have armed guards aboard ready to repel boarders with military force, says Reuters.
Only five ships were captured in 2012, down from 25 in 2011 and 27 in 2010, said the report, adding that the last merchant ship to be successfully taken was nine months ago, a far cry from two years ago, when several were taken in a week.
"We've had calls when you could hear gunfire and rocket propelled grenades in the background, but lately the phones are ringing much less," said Lieut Comdr Simon Goodes, officer in charge of the UK Maritime Trade Organisation (UKMTO) reporting centre in Dubai that advises British ships under attack.
The only confirmed attack this year, he said, was on a merchant vessel in early January as it sailed towards the Kenyan port of Mombasa. But shipboard private security guards repelled boarders after a 30-minute small arms engagement.
"This is an important year," said Lieut Comdr Jacqueline Sheriff, spokeswoman for EU's naval contingent, NAVFOR. "We will find out whether this fall in piracy is really sustainable."
NAVFOR said there were only 36 confirmed attacks and a further 73 "suspicious events" - incidents in which a crew report a suspicious craft that might be pirates but could also be fishermen. That itself is a substantial fall from 2011, with 176 attacks and 166 "suspicious events", said Reuters.
For many, the fall in attacks is a vindication of the decision to massively deploy shipboard armed guards. Not a single ship with armed guards has been taken by pirates, though some say security contractors have fired on innocent fishermen from India, Oman and Yemen.
Navies say the numbers show they are finally having an impact. Since piracy first grabbed global attention in 2008, a number of nations have sent warships to the region.
