Global piracy levels rose significantly in the first quarter of the year due to a surge in armed attacks against vessels around West Africa, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea, the International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported on Tuesday.
Statistics from the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre stated that there were 66 confirmed incidents of piracy and armed robberies in the period of January-March, up from 43 over the same period last year.
More than 40% of the cases, or 30 incidents, took place in the Gulf of Guinea, the centre said.
Of the 30 confirmed piracy and hijacking attacks against vessels in the gulf, 22 were recorded off Nigerian waters. Eight of the incidents triggered exchange of gunfire, including the attempt to hijack a 300,000 DWT tanker more than 40 nautical miles off Brass.
An IMB spokesperson expressed concern on the spate of hijackings in the gulf, saying that the syndicates seek to steal the oil from the vessel and kidnap its crew for ransom.
The official suggested that immediate detection and response to unauthorised movements of an anchored vessel will help the vessel's crew in addressing the attacks.
Meanwhile, Indonesia recorded nine incidents in January-March while five attacks took place in Venezuelan waters during the similar timeframe.
There were two reported piracy/armed robbery incidents in the Philippines in Q1 while one each were recorded in the waters of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden.
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