Pirate attacks on maritime shipping were much more deadly in 2004 despite a reduction in the total number of reported incidents, the International Maritime Bureau disclosed on Monday.
Pirates killed 30 seafarers last year compared with 21 in 2003, with 30 going missing and 148 taken hostage. The overall number of attacks dropped to 325 from 445.
The IMB’s annual piracy report highlighted the Malacca Straits — separating Indonesia’s Sumatra island on one side and Malaysia and Singapore on the other — and Nigeria as the two most dangerous areas.
More than half the murders occurred in Nigerian waters. ”We’re very worried about Nigeria because we’ve seen some very violent attacks and sometimes the law enforcement authorities don’t recognise them,” said the IMB director, Captain Pottengal Mukundan.
The Malacca Straits, through which more than a quarter of the world’s shipping passes, are of concern because the number of reported attacks rose 32% from 2003 despite the launch of high-profile coordinated patrols by the three countries’ navies. ”The question is how effective these patrols have been,” the IMB director said. ”On the Indonesian side they have not been so effective.”
No one from Indonesia’s defence ministry or armed forces was available to comment on this on Monday.
Captain Mukundan declined to comment on reports that elements of the Indonesian security forces were as much part of the problem as the solution. – Guardian Unlimited Â