In its recently-published annual piracy report, Oceans Beyond Piracy reported a total of 71 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Latin America and the Caribbean Sea throughout 2017, which represents a 163% increase over 2016. Most incidents occurred in territorial waters, with anchored yachts being the primary targets for attackers.
Highlights
- Anchorage crime against yachts continues as the most pressing issue. Incidents involving yachts made up roughly 59% of all cases.
- Anchorages in Venezuela, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Colombia, and St. Lucia represented incident hotspots in the region.
- 854 seafarers were affected by piracy and armed robbery, representing an increase from 527 impacted seafarers in 2016.
- A significant increase was observed in failed boardings and attacks, as well as robberies.
The graphic below represents the known nationalities of 229 1 of the 438 seafarers exposed to piracy and armed robbery at sea in 2017 as reported to the IMB. The nationalities of the other 209 are unverified.
Economic cost
As with last year’s State of Maritime Piracy report, OBP did not calculate a total economic cost for piracy and armed robbery in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, OBP did calculate the value of stolen ship stores and crew belongings. Ship stores were stolen in 41 incidents and crew belongings were reported stolen on 18 occasions in 2017. In total, roughly $949,000 dollars’ worth of goods were stolen in 2017.
However, the trend seems to continue also in 2018, according to Maisie Pigeon, the report’s lead author.
We have observed a significant increase in violent incidents and anchorage crime, particularly in the anchorages of Venezuela and the recent violent incidents off Suriname in the first part of this year.
A brutal piracy attack off Suriname’s coast, in early May, left 16 fishermen missing and feared dead. The pirates raided the four boats, that were carrying a total of 20 fishermen, off the Atlantic coast of Suriname and forced them to jump overboard. As they reported, the attackers beat them with machetes and forced them to jump into the water. Some of the victims had batteries tied to their legs to weigh them down.
