World pirate attacks surge in 2009 due to Somalia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Pirate attacks worldwide in the first nine months of 2009 exceeded the whole of last year's total because of more frequent raids in the Gulf of Aden and off the east coast of Somalia, an international maritime watchdog said Wednesday.

Far more of this year's attacks have involved guns, the report said.

The number of attacks rose to 306 between January and September, surpassing the 293 incidents recorded throughout 2008, according to a statement released by the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur.

Vessels were boarded in 114 cases and 34 were hijacked so far this year, with 661 crew taken hostage and six killed, the bureau said in its quarterly report.

The use of guns in the attacks more than doubled to 176 cases in the first nine months of 2009 from 76 in the same period of last year, the report added.

The higher number of attacks was due mainly to increased Somali pirate activity off the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest sea lanes, and the east coast of Somalia, which combined accounts for 147 cases, the report said.

Somalia has been ravaged by violence and anarchy since 1991 and piracy has flourished off its coast, making the Gulf of Aden one of the most dangerous waterways in the world.

The International Maritime Bureau said Somali attacks decreased in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the first half of the year because of monsoon-related poor weather. However, the pirates have recently started to increase attacks after a period of quiet.

The pirates use sophisticated equipment and so-called larger "mother ships" to enable them to strike hundreds of miles (kilometers) offshore. The multimillion-dollar ransoms they share are a fortune in their impoverished country.

Among other nations that reported significant attacks over the same nine months, Nigeria had 20, Malaysia reported 14, Bangladesh had 12, while India and Peru recorded 10 each.