Good and bad news on piracy front

THE good news is that piracy and armed robbery at sea has fallen to its lowest levels since 1995, according to a new report from the International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

Unfortunately, there are least at two lots of bad news. First, West Africa continues to be a danger area, with increasing numbers of attacks and kidnappings for ransom.

Secondly, in a separate report, the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia says it is concerned about a spate of incidents involving the abduction of crew from ships while underway in waters off eastern Sabah and southern Philippines, which have occurred since March 2016.

About half of the crew members captured have been released following ransom payments but very worryingly it is suspected that others may have been sold on to the Abu Sayyaf group of Islamist terrorists. Between March and July, there were six abduction incidents in the area, involving five tugs towing barges and one fishing vessel. As well as abducting crew members, the pirates stole items on board the ship, including navigational equipment, and the crew's personal belongings such as mobile phones and laptops. Of the 33 crew members who had been abducted in the six incidents, only 18 have been releas…