Singapore-flagged ships hit by surge in piracy
SINGAPORE, Jan 15 — Pirate attacks are on the rise worldwide, with 406 incidents recorded last year, the most since 2003.
The increase has occurred despite high-profile patrols mounted by multinational navies in hot spots like the Gulf of Aden and Malacca Straits.
The news is bad for Singapore shipping firms: because of the sheer number of Singapore-flagged ships sailing in international waters — the republic is among the largest ship registries in the world — the odds that such vessels will be attacked have gone up.
Indeed, last year, 32 Singapore- flagged vessels were set upon by pirates, a five-year high.
Only Panamanian and Liberian ships were attacked with greater frequency, with 69 and 38 incidents recorded, respectively.
The frequency of attacks on Singapore-flagged ships means shipping firms here have to pay more in insurance premiums. The increases range from 10 per cent to as high as 20 per cent.
Shipping firms said that their rising operating costs would be passed to logistics firms, which are their clients.
One likely result of this is that goods which are shipped through pirate-infested waters could cost more, they added.
The figures are from the piracy reporting centre of the London-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which released its 2009 global piracy report card yesterday.
The 406 attacks last year also exacted a human toll, with 1,052 crew members taken hostage. Of these, eight were killed and 68 injured.
The report also identified two new piracy hot spots which are close to Singapore: The South China Sea and the Singapore Straits, with 22 attacks logged there last year, surpassing the last high of 13 in 2005.
Pirates boarded ships on 17 occasions and attempted boarding on four others.
Captain Noel Choong, who heads the IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur, said pirates usually hit ships in the area bounded by the Indonesian island of Anambas, Malaysia’s Tioman island and the eastern end of the Singapore Straits.
The waters off Somalia remain the most dangerous place for ships, despite the presence of a multinational naval armada. Of the 406 attacks last year, more than half, including eight of the attacks on Singapore-flagged ships, took place there.
In the most recent attack on a Singapore-registered ship there, Somali bandits seized the chemical tanker M.T. Pramoni on New Year’s Day and made hostages out of its 24 crew members.
The vessel, carrying 15,000 tonnes of chemicals, was bound for Kandla in India from Genoa in Italy.
The tanker’s capture came barely a week after a US$4 million (RM13.4 million) ransom was reportedly paid to Somali pirates for the release of home-grown Pacific International Lines’ container ship, the Kota Wajar, and its 21-man crew.
One bright spot in the report was the fact that Indonesian waters and the Malacca Straits are now a lot safer from pirates. There were only 17 attacks there last year, a dip from 90 five years ago.
About 4,000 ships are registered in Singapore, many enticed by tax exemptions and the country’s good safety record. — The Straits Times
SINGAPORE, Jan 15 — Pirate attacks are on the rise worldwide, with 406 incidents recorded last year, the most since 2003.
The increase has occurred despite high-profile patrols mounted by multinational navies in hot spots like the Gulf of Aden and Malacca Straits.
The news is bad for Singapore shipping firms: because of the sheer number of Singapore-flagged ships sailing in international waters — the republic is among the largest ship registries in the world — the odds that such vessels will be attacked have gone up.
Indeed, last year, 32 Singapore- flagged vessels were set upon by pirates, a five-year high.
Only Panamanian and Liberian ships were attacked with greater frequency, with 69 and 38 incidents recorded, respectively.
The frequency of attacks on Singapore-flagged ships means shipping firms here have to pay more in insurance premiums. The increases range from 10 per cent to as high as 20 per cent.
Shipping firms said that their rising operating costs would be passed to logistics firms, which are their clients.
One likely result of this is that goods which are shipped through pirate-infested waters could cost more, they added.
The figures are from the piracy reporting centre of the London-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which released its 2009 global piracy report card yesterday.
The 406 attacks last year also exacted a human toll, with 1,052 crew members taken hostage. Of these, eight were killed and 68 injured.
The report also identified two new piracy hot spots which are close to Singapore: The South China Sea and the Singapore Straits, with 22 attacks logged there last year, surpassing the last high of 13 in 2005.
Pirates boarded ships on 17 occasions and attempted boarding on four others.
Captain Noel Choong, who heads the IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur, said pirates usually hit ships in the area bounded by the Indonesian island of Anambas, Malaysia’s Tioman island and the eastern end of the Singapore Straits.
The waters off Somalia remain the most dangerous place for ships, despite the presence of a multinational naval armada. Of the 406 attacks last year, more than half, including eight of the attacks on Singapore-flagged ships, took place there.
In the most recent attack on a Singapore-registered ship there, Somali bandits seized the chemical tanker M.T. Pramoni on New Year’s Day and made hostages out of its 24 crew members.
The vessel, carrying 15,000 tonnes of chemicals, was bound for Kandla in India from Genoa in Italy.
The tanker’s capture came barely a week after a US$4 million (RM13.4 million) ransom was reportedly paid to Somali pirates for the release of home-grown Pacific International Lines’ container ship, the Kota Wajar, and its 21-man crew.
One bright spot in the report was the fact that Indonesian waters and the Malacca Straits are now a lot safer from pirates. There were only 17 attacks there last year, a dip from 90 five years ago.
About 4,000 ships are registered in Singapore, many enticed by tax exemptions and the country’s good safety record. — The Straits Times
