Resurgence of pirates in international waters puts Centre on alert

Geopolitical instability, rising sea robberies pose risks to maritime economy

India’s shipping regulator, Director General of Shipping (DGS), has advised seafarers to take extra caution as incidents of piracy have seen an uptick after several years of relative normalcy, making international waters riskier for merchant ships.

MV Ruen, a Malta-flagged merchant ship, was hijacked by unknown raiders last week in the Arabian Sea, sparking fears of the return of Somali pirates in international waters, amid troubling geopolitical uncertainty.

The DGS flagged the rising number of cases and asked for caution in an advisory.

“It is understood that several piracy groups that had been dormant for a while have become active again. We are coordinating with all seafaring stakeholders,” a senior government official said.

Malacca Strait, a major international shipping route, is also seeing many such incidents. According to the DGS, there is “a larger pattern of maritime security concerns in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore which, as per International Maritime Organisation’s Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS), has exhibited a sharp increase in incidents from 45 in 2019 to a peak of 83 in 2023.”

The rise in conflict-related incidents in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea involving attacks using drones and missiles is a growing concern and poses serious risks, the Indian Navy said in one of its weekly updates through the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

“It not only jeopardises the lives of those onboard the ship but also poses a significant threat to maritime trade, cargo shipments and overall maritime safety in the region. Connections and intentions of attacks on ships in the Red Sea and IOR remain uncertain, given that vessels owned by multiple countries are being attacked,” the update said.

"Recently, two new hotspots have emerged. Due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, a faction operating in the Red Sea – which is a typically safe area – has been firing projectiles arbitrarily. Additionally, there have been two incidents involving Somali pirates, and one vessel has been hijacked,” an official said.

There was another incident on November 26, where armed men suspected to be Somali pirates boarded the tanker Central Park. However, naval intervention through the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations ensured that the pirates were captured.

According to people in the know, the last incidents of Somali piracy were nearly seven years ago, which sparked concerns in the maritime sector.
 

“Global political instability continues to escalate, posing significant threats to maritime activities, especially shipping, commerce, and supply chains. This heightened risk stems from various factors, including conflicts, territorial disagreements, cyber-attacks, the imposition of sanctions, piracy, and potential acts of sabotage. Concurrently, the rising number of sea-borne migrants, drug smuggling using merchant vessels and a surge in stowaway incidents are creating severe security challenges worldwide,” the DGS advisory said.

There is work going on to build capacity in troubled waters as these cases increase, another official said. The Indian Navy is a part of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), a 39-nation group of naval forces looking at maritime security. 

The regulator’s analysis pointed out that 63 incidents occurred while steaming in Territorial waters, while about 20 occurred in port limits for vessels at anchor.

Since 2021, there has also been an increase in attacks from loitering munitions (LM), also called suicide drones, on both civilian and military targets, with merchant ships becoming notable targets. 
 

These incidents, predominantly occurring in North Africa, the Arabian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Arabian Sea, are believed to be orchestrated by state actors using LMs, the shipping regulator said.