In the first three months of 2013, there were 66 reported attacks by sea pirates around the world. The number of attacks in the first quarter of 2013 was down 35 percent from the 102 attacks during the first quarter of 2012.
Between January to March 2013, there were 5 attacks in Somalia, down from 36 cases in 2012.
In the Gulf Region, there were a reported 15 pirate attacks and 3 hijackings during the first quarter of 2013.
In Nigeria, there were 11 pirate attacks in the first three months of 2013.
Source: Associated Press, “World Sea Piracy Down 35 Percent in First Quarter,” ABC News, April 15, 2013.
Sea piracy off the coast of Somalia was estimated to have cost the global economy between $5.7 Billion to $6.1 Billion in 2012. The total economic costs were 12.5 percent lower than 2011.
A portion of the decrease was attributed to the increased security presence in the area. The costs to arm guards travelling on ships increased by nearly 80 percent and was costing the shipping industry between $1.15 Billion to $1.53 Billion. The rise in private security led to the decrease in international military operations, whose costs fell 14 percent to $1.09 Billion.
The amont of ransom paid out to pirates in Somalia also decreased in 2012. The Somali Pirates were estimated to have received $31.75 Million in ransom payments in 2012, compared to $159.62 Million the year before.
Source: Reuters, “Global cost of Somali piracy down as higher security deters attacks,” Yahoo News, April 9, 2013.
There were a total of 297 pirate attacks that took place around the world in 2012, according to statistics collected by the International Maritime Bureau. 28 ship vessels were hijacked and 585 crew members were taken hostage and held for ransom during the year. 6 people were killed during the year.
Sea piracy off the coast of Somalia decreased to 75 pirate attacks, compared to 237 in 2011. Somali pirates were able to hijack 14 ships in 2012, compared to the 28 that they held for ransom the year before.
In 2011, there were 439 reported pirate attacks around the world.
Source: Associated Press, “World Sea Piracy Falls to Five-Year Low in 2012,” ABC News, January 16, 2013.
The recorded number of Somali pirate attacks has declined, according to the European Union Navel Force Somalia.
In 2011, navel forces recorded 176 pirate attacks and attempted hijackings. In 2012, the security forces recorded 34 attempted hijackings off the coast of Somalia.
Source: Roopa Gogineni, “Somali Pirate Attacks Plummet in 2012,” Voice of America, December 6, 2012.
A report by the United Nations Monitoring Group on Somalia reported that $7 out of every $10 in government revenue goes missing, a loss of 70 percent of all revenue. Back in 2009, the World Bank found that 68 percent of all government revenue went missing.
A famine in Somalia in 2011 that killed an estimated 100,000 people is believed to have been affected by corruption, with aid being diverted by government officials and militias.
Up to 50 percent of all food aid delivered to Somalia is estimated to have been lost to corruption and theft.
Source: Associated Press, “UN report cites massive corruption in Somali gov’t, says $7 of $10 in gov’t funds goes missing,” Washington Post, July 16, 2012.
The cost of piracy in Somalia was estimated to be between $6.6 Billion to $6.9 Billion in 2011. The cost of piracy was over 110 percent of Somalia’s GDP in 2011.
Out of the total 439 piracy attacks that occurred in 2011, 275 attacks took place off the waters of Somalia.
Source: Annette Leijenaar and Timothy Walker, “Somalia: Rooting Out Piracy Starts On-Shore,” All Africa, July 9, 2012.
The Security Association of the Maritime Industry (Sami) reported to the BBC that there were over 200 companies providing security services in the north-west region of the Indian Ocean. 139 companies are members of the association, with almost half of the members being companies based in the United Kingdom.
The companies provide a range of services, from ransom negotiation to armed guards to prevent kidnappings. An armed guard working in a group of three can make up to $634 (500 British Pounds) in a 5-day tour.
As of March 2012, there were over 100 sailors being held for ransom by pirates off the coast of Somalia.
Source: Peter Jackson, “The UK firms who tackle Somali pirates,” BBC News, March 24, 2012.
Pirates in Somalia earned around $170 Million in ransom payments in 2011, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. In 2010, the pirates made $110 Million.
The UNODC reported that 1,116 Somali men face criminal trials in 20 countries for piracy.
Source: “Ransom money laundered by pirates affects stability in the Horn of Africa, says UNODC chief,” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, February 22, 2012.
In 2011, the average ransom paid out to pirates holding hostages off the coast of Somalia increased 25 percent to $5 Million.
Pirate activities cost shipping companies and governments up to $6.9 Billion in costs in 2011, according to a report by One Earth Future Foundation.
Source: Michelle Wiese Bockmann, “Somali Pirates Cost $6.9B as Attacks Reach Record,” Bloomberg, February 8, 2012.
There were 439 reported attacks of piracy at sea in 2011, down from the 445 cases reported in 2010.
A total of 802 crew members were held hostage and 45 vessels were hijacked in 2011. The figures from 2011 were lower than the 1,181 hostages and 53 vessels hijacked in 2010.
Pirates from Somali accounted for 237 attacks, or 54 percent of all pirate attacks in 2011.
Source: Associated Press, “World sea piracy drops in 2011 for the first time in five years, attacks in Somali intensify,” Washington Post, January 18, 2012.
