Tag: IMB

The International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB) issued its annual report concerning international piracy incidents, highlighting that the Gulf of Guinea is a hot spot for piracy incidents and remains a crucial challenge for seafarers.

Piracy and armed robbery increased on the world’s seas in the first nine months of 2020, with a 40% increase in the number of kidnappings reported in the Gulf of Guinea, compared with the same period in 2019, according to latest figures by ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

Violent attacks against ships and their crews have increased in 2020, with 77 seafarers taken hostage or kidnapped for ransom since January, reports the ICC International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) latest piracy report.

Seafarers face continuing threats from pirates and armed robbers on the world’s seas, says the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) International Maritime Bureau (IMB), reporting 47 attacks in the first three months of 2020.

Another piracy incident was reported in Nigeria, as a group of armed men fired upon a containership, located about 19 nautical miles South West of Bayelsa on January 21, Tuesday. Following, the crew has been reported to be safe and unharmed. 

While overall piracy incidents declined in 2019, there was an alarming increase in crew kidnappings across the Gulf of Guinea. In 2019, IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre received 162 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships worldwide, in comparison to 201 reported incidents in 2018.

Following the kidnap of 20 crewmembers from MV Duke off the coast of Benin, ISWAN and ICMA (the International Christian Maritime Association) partner to express their concerns about the wellbeing and safety of seafarers who sail the "notorious and dangerous waters of the Gulf of Guinea".

Although IMB figures indicated a decrease in the number of incidents for the first nine months of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018, piracy in terms of crew kidnappings reached another record high this year, pushing shipping to rethink its approach on maritime security.

ICC's International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reports 119 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships for 2019, in comparison to the 156 incidents that were reported in the same period in 2018, with the Gulf of Guinea remaining a high risk area for piracy and armed robbery. 

The IMB Piracy Reporting Centre reported that a group of pirates has boarded a bulk carrier off the Indonesian cost. The coast guard sailed along with the vessel to Singapore, but when they searched for the pirates onboard, they were nowhere to be found.