PIRATES increased assaults on ships 36 per cent to 266 attacks in the
first half of 2011, but successful seizures dropped 28 per cent year on
year to 21, according to the International Maritime Bureau's (IMB)
Piracy Reporting Centre.
Somali pirates, working the Arabian Sea, were responsible for more than 60 per cent of pirate attacks worldwide, according to IMB's "Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships" report. Their lack of success was attributed to carriers' being better prepared as well as improved patrolling by naval forces.
As of June 30, Somali pirates were holding 20 ships and 420 crew members, asking for ransoms of millions of dollars, reported Newark's Journal of Commerce. In the first half of 2011, most of the attacks happened in east and northeast of the Gulf of Aden, the route that crude oil tankers sail from the Arabian Gulf and other ships into the Gulf of Aden.
More violence and highly planned attacks with automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade launchers have been noted this year, particularly on the West Africa coast, listing 12 attacks on tankers off Benin since March, which had no such incidents last year.
Somali pirates, working the Arabian Sea, were responsible for more than 60 per cent of pirate attacks worldwide, according to IMB's "Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships" report. Their lack of success was attributed to carriers' being better prepared as well as improved patrolling by naval forces.
As of June 30, Somali pirates were holding 20 ships and 420 crew members, asking for ransoms of millions of dollars, reported Newark's Journal of Commerce. In the first half of 2011, most of the attacks happened in east and northeast of the Gulf of Aden, the route that crude oil tankers sail from the Arabian Gulf and other ships into the Gulf of Aden.
More violence and highly planned attacks with automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade launchers have been noted this year, particularly on the West Africa coast, listing 12 attacks on tankers off Benin since March, which had no such incidents last year.