Global piracy at lowest level in decades

According to its quarterly report, the International Maritime Bureau (“IMB") received the lowest number of reported incidents for the first nine months of the year since 1992 – a testament to littoral states’ commitment to battling piracy with the most high-profile initiative being Nigeria’s $195m Deep Blue Project.

IMB has counted 90 reported incidents across the globe this year, 13 of which have taken place in the Gulf of Guinea – a significant decrease from the 41 and 27 reported piracy incidents in Nigerian waters in 2018 and 2021 respectively.

Despite the decline in piracy, the risk for violence to crew remains real, IMB says. In 2022, 27 crew members were taken hostage, six were assaulted and five were threatened.

There was further an increase in the incidents reported in the Singapore Strait which rose to 31 this year from 21 a year ago. IMB has described these incidents as “low-level opportunistic crimes” and advised littoral states to 'increase patrols in what is a strategically important waterway for the shipping industry and for global trade'.

For more information, please contact your usual club contact or the authors of this article.​

Category: Maritime Security