Global piracy on the rise: International Maritime Bureau

Global piracy on the high seas is on the rise once again and a small coastal tanker is hijacked by pirates in South East Asia every two weeks, according to a new report.
The joint report by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and International Maritime Bureau (IMB) found that South East Asia accounted for 55 per cent of the world's 54 piracy and armed robbery incidents since the start of 2015.
The report also found that after a steady drop in global piracy over the last few years, attacks rose 10 per cent in the first quarter of 2015.

Worldwide, pirates took 140 hostages in the first three months of 2015, three times as many as during the same period in 2014.
A total of 13 seafarers were assaulted and three injured.
IMB recorded 23 ship hijackings in South East Asia since April 2014.

Most attacks were by armed gangs targeting small coastal tankers to steal their cargoes of fuel.
"The frequency of these hijackings in South East Asia is an increasing cause for concern. There's a risk that the attacks and violence could increase if left unabated," said Pottengal Mukundan, Director of IMB, which has been monitoring world piracy since 1991.

Indonesia accounts for the highest number of attacks - almost 40 percent of 2015 attacks, with two vessels hijacked and 19 vessels boarded.
IMB report said that the majority of incidents were low-level, opportunistic thefts, though the attackers were usually armed with knives, machetes or guns.