Foreign vessels foil pirate attacks off Somalia coast: IMB

A global maritime body said on Wednesday that combined efforts by foreign navies have helped in thwarting piracy attacks off the coast of Somalia.

International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said in its 2014 report on piracy that the number of Somali pirate attacks continues to remain low with 11 incidents reported including two vessels fired upon.

"From January 1 to December 31, 2014, the IMB PRC has received reports of 11 incidents including two incidents in which vessels were fired upon," IMB warned in the report.

It said the combined efforts of the Navies in the region, along with the increased hardening of vessels and Best Management Practices (BMP4) compliance, employment of Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel (PCASP), and the stabilizing factor of the central government within Somalia have resulted in the huge drop in attacks.

"As the IMB PRC continues to monitor the situation in the region, it cautions ship owners and Masters against complacency. Somali pirates still have the capability and capacity to carry out attacks," the anti-piracy watchdog cautioned.

The annual piracy report says IMB believes that a single successful hijacking of a merchant vessel, will rekindle the Somali pirates' appetite to resume its piracy efforts.

"As of December 31, 2014, suspected Somali pirates held 33 crewmembers for ransom," the IMB annual piracy report shows.

The drop in piracy incidents is, however, a relief to shipping companies using the Indian Ocean that have been target of pirates often paying heavy ransom to secure release of their vehicles and the crew.

The African maritime industry, along the Indian Ocean, had been greatly affected by piracy that has raised the costs of shipping as insurance companies and private ship security companies increased their premiums to mitigate the risks.

The Kenyan government expects more shipping lines to use the port of Mombasa and in return expand regional trade in Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Congo, with the diffused threat of piracy following the deployment of Kenya Defence Force (KDF) soldiers in southern Somalia.

Somali pirates tend to be well armed with automatic weapons and RPG and sometimes use skiffs launched from mother vessels, which may be hijacked fishing vessels, to conduct attacks far from the Somali coast.

Hijackings of product tankers appeared to subside in the last quarter of 2014, with the last reported case at the end of July 2014. Endi