Global piracy acts drop to 14-year low —report

BREST, France — Worldwide acts of piracy fell to their lowest level last year since statistics were first established in 2008, a maritime security body said on Monday.

The Maritime Information Cooperation and Awareness Center (MICA), the France-based branch of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) which is headquartered in Malaysia, said there had been 300 reported acts of piracy and robbery last year.

The IMB had already reported in its quarterly report in October that such acts were at their lowest level since 1992.

Southeast Asia, Philippines

No incidents of maritime terrorism were reported in Southeast Asia in 2022, the report said. "It is likely that trilateral cooperation between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, as well as parallel reinsertion programs for Abu Sayyaf Group fighters, have had at least a temporary eradicating impact on this threat," it said.

"However, the continued curfew in Sabah State shows that the authorities remain vigilant. The maritime community having a vocation to conduct activities in the region must also remain on their guard."

The Philippines saw a "significant" decline in incidents to five in 2022, all related to thefts at anchor, the report said.

"While 2021 saw an increase in violence against crews, this year only one incident involved weapons," it added.

Decline elsewhere

In the Gulf of Guinea, off the west coast of Africa and considered a piracy hotspot, just three ships were attacked in 2022 compared to 26 in 2019, the MICA said.

In the same area, the number of kidnappings dropped to two last year, from 146 in 2019.

"It's never been lower," MICA's commander Eric Jaslin told AFP.

But he warned: "You never know what tomorrow may bring in terms of piracy. We advise continued caution."

Many former pirates have turned to other activities such as illegal oil refining or transporting stolen crude, said Katja Lindskov Jacobsen, a Copenhagen University researcher quoted in the report.

Robberies in territorial waters—distinct from piracy which is defined as taking place in the high seas—continue at a high level, and were even on the rise in the Malacca and Singapore Straits, the report said.

Drug and arms trafficking, smuggling and armed conflict at sea also still posed dangers for shipping, Jaslin said.

The MICA Center was set up in 2016 to identify and analyze situations and incidents affecting maritime navigation throughout the world, and to warn crews and shipowners of impending dangers. — Agence France-Presse