【Piracy】 Global piracy incident report for 2023 by IMB

IMB has published global piracy report which period of 1 January to 31 December 2023.

The Summary of the report is below.

• The IMB annual report recorded 120 incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships in 2023 compared to 115 in 2022. The 2023 annual report reveals that 105 vessels were boarded, nine attempted attacks, four vessels hijacked and two fired upon. 
• On 14 December 2023 the report recorded the first successful hijacking of a vessel off the coast of Somalia since 2017. IMB Director Michael Howlett said:“This is a cause for concern and the IMB is once again calling for all masters and vessel owners to continue following the recommendations and reporting procedures as per the latest version of the Best Management Practices,” adding that the incident demonstrates the continued capabilities of the Somali pirates. 
• Despite the continued restraint in the number of reported incidents in the Gulf of Guinea, with 22 in 2023 compared to 19 in 2022.These waters accounted for three of the four globally reported hijackings, all 14 crew kidnappings, and 75% of reported crew hostages and two injured crew in 2023 – continuing to be dangerous waters for seafarers.
• The Singapore Straits remain an area of concern due to the high number of incidents. They may be considered as lower risk incidents compared to Somalia and Gunia pirates incident, but one crew member was injured and required medical attention after a bulk carrier was boarded in the Malacca Straits in October 2023. 
• Fourteen incidents were reported from vessels at Callao anchorage in Peru. Seven crew were taken hostage and one each assaulted and threatened. Guns and knives were reported in nine incidents. Other ports affected in South America were Macapa anchorage in Brazil, and Cartagena and Puerto Bolivar anchorages in Colombia.

Note from Editor
Please note that since November 2023, there have been a series of missile attacks and hijackings of civilian vessels in the Red Sea, which are not included in the IMB's annual report because they were carried out by armed forces.

You can check the detail from below link.
https://www.icc-ccs.org/index.php/1342-new-imb-report-reveals-concerning-rise-in-maritime-piracy-incidents-in-2023