Page 20 - INTERCARGO - Annual Report Report 2021 - 2022

ANNUAL REVIEW

Piracy and Armed Robbery at Sea

Incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea have shown an encouraging reduction
throughout 2022. The number of incidents that took place in the Gulf of Guinea

(West Africa) decreased in the first half of 2022 by 14 compared to the same period
in 2021, when 27 incidents were reported. This constitutes a decrease of 52%.
There is, however, still no room for complacency. Such attacks continue to take

place around the world and the Straits of Malacca and Singapore were rated as
the areas most affected by acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships in
January to June 2022.

According to information received and made available in IMO’s The shipping industry maintains a Maritime Global Security Web-
GISIS module, 69 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against site. The site contains guidance and external links, and the site is
ships were reported to IMO as having occurred or been attempt- navigated using the drop-down menus specifying the type of risk/
ed in January to June 2022. For the same period in 2021, 88 inci- issue, or the geography. International shipping industry associa-
dents were reported. This therefore constitutes a decrease of ap- tions including INTERCARGO have joined forces to continue up-
proximately 22% at the global level compared to the same period dating the resource.
last year.
( https://www.maritimeglobalsecurity.org ).
For ships operating in areas with reported piracy and armed rob-
bery cases, the best advice is to obtain access to the latest guid-
ance and best practice, carry out a risk assessment and follow in-
dustry best practice.
It is essential to register and liaise with navy forces, to request sup-
port and protection. During the communication vessels may be
sent updates on the security situation of intended sea passages
and potential vulnerability to attack.
After more than a decade of effective threat-reducing counter-pira-
cy operations, the shipping industry has decided to remove the ‘In-
dian Ocean High Risk Area’ (HRA). No piracy attacks against mer-
chant ships have occurred off Somalia since 2018. The removal of
the HRA will come into effect on 1 January 2023. The shipping indus-
try will continue to monitor and advise on maritime security threats
to assist the safe transit of vessels and the seafarers who crew them.
Pre-voyage threat and risk assessments should still be carried out
considering the latest maritime security information from organi-
sations supporting the Voluntary Reporting Area (VRA). Best Man-
agement Practices 5 (BMP5) will continue to provide the necessary
guidance for shipping to ensure threat and risk assessments are de-
veloped for every voyage to mitigate the risks presented by remain-
ing security threats in the region.

For more information on this topic please visit:
intercargo.org/topics/piracy

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