SUBSTANTIAL Somali piracy appears to have ended last year with no confirmed attacks in 2015 with violent incidents linked to fishing vessels, according to a Dryad Maritime study.
That is, attacks on foreign fishing vessels operating in or near the claimed Somali 200-nautical mile exclusive eonomic zone (EEZ) still occur, but "a return to the industrial level of piracy is unlikely."
Instead, 2015 piracy loomed largest in South East Asia, but civil wars in North Africa and the Middle East have become a greater risk to world shipping, reported Lloyd's Loading List.
At total of 236 maritime 'incidents" has been recorded by the shipping intelligence company in South East Asia last year compared to 50 in the rest of the world.
There were 49 incidents in West Africa's Gulf of Guinea and 18 in the Indian Ocean region, previously a hotbed of piracy, said the report.
Nine seafarers were killed in 2015, 96 were kidnapped and an estimated 47 are currently in captivity.
But although South East Asia was the most hazardous shipping area last year, geopolitical tensions in the Mediterranean have now made this the area of "most concern" according to Dryad.
It cited continued civil war in Libya and the expansion of the Islamic State terrorist organisation, both there and in the Sinai, as causes for concern.
Moreover, ships are often diverted to rescue migrants stranded in distressed vessels on routes from North Africa to Europe.
"People fleeing across the sea to Europe, has meant that the ongoing crises and instability across North Africa and the Middle East have had a significant impact upon maritime activities," said Dryad.
Although incidents in the Gulf of Guinea were down 29 per cent year on year, the number of crew kidnapped in the region rose and the risk of kidnap remained a real threat, said the report.
Southeast Asia saw a 10 per cent rise in maritime crime from 2014 year on year, and Dryad said the increase could have been larger were it not for the success of authorities in arresting pirates.
"The final quarter of the year saw a more proactive and effective approach to law enforcement, in particular from the Indonesian and Malaysian authorities, resulting in a welcome drop in crime levels," said the report.
"The war in Yemen has so far had minimal effect on the transit of shipping through the area, although the Saudi led coalition's closure of the country's ports has contributed to a humanitarian crisis ashore," said the report.
"The recent increase in hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Iran has the potential to add to the volatile geopolitical situation in the Gulf region," he said.
PIRACY
01 February 2016 - 20:23
Somali piracy shuts down, but South East Asia, West Africa still active
SUBSTANTIAL Somali piracy appears to have ended last year with no confirmed attacks in 2015 with violent incidents linked to fishing vessels, according to a Dryad Maritime study.
PIRACY
01 February 2016 - 20:23
Somali piracy shuts down, but South East Asia, West Africa still active
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