Monday, June 15, 2015

Status of Piracy in the Western Indian Ocean

Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) released on 8 June 2015 its annual report "The State of Maritime Piracy 2014: Assessing the Economic and Human Cost." This detailed account looks at the three areas most impacted by piracy: Western Indian Ocean, Gulf of Guinea, and Southeast Asia.

There has been a sharp drop in Somali piracy in recent years.  In 2014, there were 18 pirate attacks that resulted in the hijacking of two dhows and no commercial vessels.  Pirates released 18 hostages in 2014 while 26 remained in captivity.  The estimated economic cost of piracy in the Western Indian Ocean in 2014 was between $2.2 and $2.3 billion.

By contrast in 2010, pirates in the Western Indian Ocean attacked 4,185 seafarers on vessels and took 1,090 hostages.  The economic cost of piracy was estimated at $7 billion.