Web alert: IMB publishes second quarter report on piracy and armed robbery for 2015

The IMB has published its report on piracy and armed robbery for the second quarter of 2015, covering the period from 1 January to 30 June 2015.

134 incidents have been reported in the first six months of 2015, with 106 ships boarded, 15 attempted attacks and 13 vessels hijacked. This represents an increase from 2014 when there were 116 reported incidents in the same period.

The IMB confirms that there have been no reported incidents off Somalia in 2015. However, 29 crew members continue to be held for ransom in the region.

The majority of reported incidents are focused on South-East Asia, with 54 incidents reported in Indonesia, 13 in Vietnam and 11 in Malaysia. The majority of incidents are however minor in nature and relate to low level opportunistic theft. 13 ships are reported to have been hijacked, which continues the trend reported earlier in the year that a ship is hijacked once every two weeks.

The following five countries compose the main bulk of the 134 reported incidents for 2015:

The main ship-types affected are as follows:

The club continues to advise members to be cautious about reported low levels of piracy incidents, especially off Somalia. We consider that a risk still remains, despite the reported lack of incidents in 2015.

We strongly recommend that members comply with the latest version of Best Management Practices (version 4) and related guidance in all affected areas.

For further information, please contact your usual contact at the club or the authors of this article.

类别: Maritime Security