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World sea piracy hits lowest level; Asia attacks slightly up


World piracy at sea has fallen to its lowest level since 2008, when attacks by Somali pirates first reached international headlines, while piracy in the Asia has slightly increased. A report from news site Gulf News cited data from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) comparing attack statistics from the first nine months of 2012 to the same period last year. 2011 Global attacks: 352 attacks Asian attacks: 46 2012 Global attacks: 233 attacks (down 119) Asian attacks 51 (up five) IMB Director Pottengal Mukundan was pleased of the decreasing worldwide piracy trend. “We welcome the successful robust targeting of pirate action groups by international navies in the high-risk waters off Somalia, ensuring these criminals are removed before they can threaten ships,” he said. However, he said authorities should remain vigilant as other waters “are still extremely high-risk.” He said  “naval presence must be maintained.” The IMB also cautioned ships that are traveling in the Malacca Straits, South China Sea and around Malaysia following reports of hijackings there this year.   Crackdown on global piracy The IMB said the decline in global piracy numbers was due to the combined efforts from the navy and shipping companies to thwart pirates. These included assigning armed personnel to ships, especially those traversing Gulf of Aden. In the first nine months of 2012, 24 vessels were recorded to have been commandeered by pirates worldwide, with 458 crew members taken hostage, six of whom were killed. The decrease is attributed to the plummet of pirate activity in the area of Somalia, which has seen a dramatic decrease of piracy from 199 to 70 this year. There was also only one reported attack during the whole third quarter of 2012. This was piracy’s all time low since it soared in 2009 primarily due to attacks in Somalia where pirates have become desperately daring. — Andrei Medina/KBK, GMA News  

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