2022 in piracy

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2022 in piracy resulted in 115 reports of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships to the International Maritime Bureau. [1] 288 acts of global piracy and robbery were recorded by the MICA Centre. [2] Piracy had substantially increased in the Gulf of Guinea; the year began with five incidents each month, through March, in the Gulf, where acts of piracy had become heightened during 2015 through 2020, while, overall, piracy incidents declined globally. [3]

Contents

The Covid-19 pandemic continued to impact maritime piracy in 2022. [4] [5]

The Rwabee hijacking and hostage-taking in January had incentivized a return to coordinated naval anti-piracy measures on the Aden coast and in the Red Sea. [6] In 2024, research would indicate that the United Nations Security Council resolution for foreign navies to patrol Somali territorial waters had lapsed, in March, 2022, with the need for it to continue being then unperceived. [7] [8]

Piracy and armed robbery in the Singapore Strait accounted for 65% of piracy incidents in Asia in 2022, according to the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCaap). [9] The Caribbean was also among the most affected areas. [2] The Strait saw an increase in piracy, [10] [4] [11] accounting for close to 30% of incidents, [12] as did Asia's, Celebs and Sulu Seas, Manila anchorages, and in the disputed waters of the eastern Sabah coast in Asia. [13]

Efforts to reduce piracy off the coast of Somalia appeared to have succeeded, with no ship hijackings for ransom since March 2017. [14] [15] Globally, incidents of piracy and armed robbery at anchor or at sea were at their lowest levels since 1992, with the vast majority of events occurring at night, under cover of darkness. [10]

The United Nations published The situation with respect to piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia in November. [16]

India enacted its first domestic anti-piracy legislation as the Maritime Anti-Piracy Act 2022, criminalizing maritime piracy and empowering Indian agencies with the authority to respond to threats. [17]

Sea piracy by cyberattack using ransomware had also become a growing threat to shipping companies. [18] [19]

Events

B Ocean

B Ocean tanker was stolen by pirates twice in 2022, first, in January, and then, again, in November. [20] [21] Flagged by the Marshall Islands, the tanker was boarded by eight armed pirates about 274 nautical miles south of Cote d'Ivorie, in November, who stole the ship's petroleum and damaged the vessel, before releasing ship and crew. [20]

MV Rwabee

On January 3, MV Rwabee was hijacked by Houthis in the Red Sea. The UAE-flagged cargo ship was said to be transporting civilian medical supplies. [22] Hostages, including 11 crew, were released in April. [23]

US Saildrone Explorer

During August 29–30, a support ship from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) attempted to capture a U.S. Navy surface vessel in the Persian Gulf. [24] Shahid Baziar continued towing the unmanned Saildrone Explorer for about four hours before releasing it, while being shadowed and radioed by the USS Thunderbolt . [25]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piracy in the Strait of Malacca</span> Piracy in the China Sea

Piracy in the Strait of Malacca has long been a threat to ship owners and the mariners who ply the 900 km-long sea lane. In recent years, coordinated patrols by Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore along with increased security on vessels have sparked a sharp downturn in piracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea</span>

Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea affects a number of countries in West Africa as well as the wider international community. By 2011, it had become an issue of global concern. Pirates in the Gulf of Guinea are often part of heavily armed criminal enterprises, who employ violent methods to steal oil cargo. In 2012, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), Oceans Beyond Piracy and the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Program reported that the number of vessels attacks by West African pirates had reached a world high, with 966 seafarers attacked during the year. According to the Control Risks Group, pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea had by mid-November 2013 maintained a steady level of around 100 attempted hijackings in the year, a close second behind the Strait of Malacca in Southeast Asia.

Piracy off the coast of Somalia occurs in the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel, and Somali Sea, in Somali territorial waters and other surrounding places and has a long troubled history with different perspectives from different communities. It was initially a threat to international fishing vessels during the early 2000s, only to rapidly escalate and expand to international shipping during the War in Somalia (2006–2009).

The MV Biscaglia was a chemical tanker managed by Ishima Pte. Ltd. of Singapore and held by Industrial Shipping Enterprises Management Company LLC of Stamford, Connecticut, USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden</span> Military operation

Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden was a naval operation by the Republic of Korea Navy against Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea. The operation was spurred by the pirates' seizure of the South Korean chemical tanker Samho Jewelry. In response, the South Korean government sent a destroyer and 30 naval commandos to retake the ship and rescue its crew. After trailing the tanker for several days and fighting a preliminary engagement that neutralized four of the pirates, the South Korean forces retook the ship by force on January 21, 2011, in a successful boarding action that resulted in the deaths of eight and the capture of five out of thirteen pirates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piracy in the 21st century</span>

Piracy in the 21st century has taken place in a number of waters around the world, including the Gulf of Guinea, Strait of Malacca, Sulu and Celebes Seas, Indian Ocean, and Falcon Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piracy in the Sulu and Celebes Seas</span>

The Sulu and Celebes Seas, a semi-enclosed sea area and porous region that covers an area of space around 1 million square kilometres, have been subject to illegal maritime activities since the pre-colonial era and continue to pose a maritime security threat to bordering nations up to this day. While piracy has long been identified as an ubiquitous challenge, being historically interwoven with the region, recent incidents also include other types of maritime crimes such as kidnapping and the trafficking of humans, arms and drugs. Attacks mostly classify as 'armed robbery against ships' according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as they occur in maritime zones that lie under the sovereignty of a coastal state. Incidents in the Sulu and Celebes Seas specifically involve the abduction of crew members. Since March 2016, the Information Sharing Centre (ISC) of the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) reports a total of 86 abductions, leading to the issue of a warning for ships transpassing the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Ocean Shield</span> NATO operation in the Horn of Africa

Operation Ocean Shield was NATO's contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa (OEF-HOA), an anti-piracy initiative in the Indian Ocean, Guardafui Channel, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea. It follows the earlier Operation Allied Protector. Naval operations began on 17 August 2009 after being approved by the North Atlantic Council, the program was terminated on 15 December 2016 by NATO. Operation Ocean Shield focused on protecting the ships of Operation Allied Provider, which transported relief supplies as part of the World Food Programme's mission in the region. The initiative also helped strengthen the navies and coast guards of regional states to assist in countering pirate attacks. Additionally, China, Japan and South Korea sent warships to participate in these activities.

INS <i>Sumitra</i> (P59) Indian Navy patrol vessel

INS Sumitra is the fourth and last Saryu-class patrol vessel of the Indian Navy, designed and constructed by Goa Shipyard Limited. It is also the presidential yacht of India. It is designed to undertake fleet support operations, coastal and offshore patrolling, ocean surveillance and monitoring of sea lines of communications and offshore assets and escort duties.

Operation Dawn 8: Gulf of Aden was a naval operation carried out by the Royal Malaysian Navy against pirates in the Indian Ocean on 20 January 2011. In response to the hijacking of MV Bunga Laurel, the Malaysian Shipborne Protection Team deployed an attack helicopter and 14 members of the naval counter-terrorism group PASKAL in two rigid-hulled inflatable boats to retake the vessel and rescue the crew. After one night of trailing the tanker, the Malaysian forces successfully retook the ship by force on 20 January 2011, resulting in the wounding of three and the capture of four out of 18 pirates, and all 23 vessel crewmembers rescued.

MT <i>Zafirah</i> hijacking 2012 piracy incident in the South China Sea

On 18 November 2012, eleven Indonesian pirates hijacked MT Zafirah, a Malaysian tanker, in the South China Sea. The tanker crew was left by the pirates on a lifeboat in the sea two days after the hijacking but were subsequently rescued by Vietnamese fishing vessels on 21 November when their lifeboat was drifting around 118 nautical miles in the waters off Vietnam's southern Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province. All the pirates managed to be tracked by Vietnam Coast Guard and Vietnam People's Navy with information provided by Malaysian based International Maritime Bureau and Singaporean based RECAAP, which led to their arrest after a brief of standoff near Vũng Tàu port.

International piracy law is international law that is meant to protect against piracy. Throughout history and legal precedents, pirates have been defined as hostis humani generis, Latin for "the enemy of all mankind". The United Nations has codified much of the law in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which defines different types of piracy and ways to combat it.

As a practice of piracy, petro-piracy, also sometimes called oil piracy or petrol piracy, is defined as “illegal taking of oil after vessel hijacks, which are sometimes executed with the use of motorships” with huge potential financial rewards. Petro-piracy is mostly a practice that is connected to and originates from piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, but examples of petro-piracy outside of the Gulf of Guinea is not uncommon. At least since 2008, the Gulf of Guinea has been home to pirates practicing petro-piracy by targeting the region's extensive oil industry. Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea has risen in the last years to become the hot spot of piracy globally with 76 actual and attempted attacks, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). Most of these attacks in the Gulf of Guinea take place in inland or territorial waters, but recently pirates have been proven to venture further out to sea, e.g. crew members were kidnapped from the tanker David B. 220 nautical miles outside of Benin. Pirates most often targets vessels carrying oil products and kidnappings of crew for ransom. IMB reports that countries in the Gulf of Guinea, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Togo, Congo, and, especially, Nigeria, have experienced petro-piracy and kidnappings of crew as the most common trends of piracy attacks in the Gulf of Guinea.

Danish shipping's counter-piracy strategy is necessary as Denmark operates one of the world's five largest shipping nations in terms of operated fleet, controlling around 10% of global shipping. At any given time, there are approximately 70 Danish-controlled ships in the Indian Ocean and 30 ships in the Gulf of Guinea. This makes piracy in these areas is a significant concern for the Danish shipping industry and for the Danish state. In 2012, when Somali piracy was at its height, the piracy cost of Danish shipping was estimated to be between 130 and 260 million Euros.

Piracy kidnappings occur during piracy, when people are kidnapped by pirates or taken hostage. Article 1 of the United Nations International Convention against the Taking of Hostages defines a hostage-taker as "any person who seizes or detains and threatens to kill, to injure, or to continue to detain another person in order to compel a third party namely, a State, an international intergovernmental organization, a natural or Juridical person, or a group of people, to do or abstain from doing any act as an explicit or implicit condition tor the release of the hostage commits the offense of taking of hostages ("hostage-taking") within the meaning of this convention." Kidnappers often try to obtain the largest financial reward possible in exchange for hostages, but piracy kidnappings can also be politically motivated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piracy and armed robbery in the Singapore Strait</span>

Frequent incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the Singapore Strait have led to the area being labelled as an area of concern by the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (RECAAP). The Singapore Strait is located south of Singapore, south-east of Malaysia and north of the Indonesian Riau Islands. The Singapore Strait is roughly 113 km long with an average width of 19 km. The Singapore Strait was the location of 65% of all incidents of piracy and armed robbery which occurred in Asia in 2022, marking a seven year high in recorded incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the area.

Operation Sankalp is the Indian Navy's initiative aimed at ensuring the security of the regional maritime domain. The term Sankalp originates from Sanskrit and signifies the concept of "Commitment". It aligns with the Indian Navy's objective of safeguarding India's shipping interests and trade routes.

2023 in piracy was marked by 120 events of maritime piracy against ships, according to the annual Piracy and Armed Robbery Report of the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB). 105 vessels were boarded, nine additional attacks attempted, two fired upon, and four vessels hijacked.

2024 in piracy included 33 reports of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships to the International Maritime Bureau during the first quarter of the year. Incidents included 24 vessels boarded, six of which experienced attempted attacks; two hijacked; and one fired upon. Crew continued to suffer violence, with 35 crew taken hostage, nine kidnapped, and one threatened during the first three months of the year.

References

  1. ↑ "2022 Annual IMB Piracy and Armed Robbery Report" (PDF). www.icc-ccs.org. International Maritime Bureau. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  2. 1 2 "French Navy's 2022 Report On Global Maritime Security". Naval News. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  3. ↑ "What will keep ships — and people — safer in the Gulf of Guinea?". Washington Post. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  4. 1 2 "The surprising link between piracy and Covid-19". lowyinstitute.org. Lowy Institute. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  5. ↑ "Piracy & the Pandemic: Maritime Crime in Southeast Asia, 2020-22". channel16.dryadglobal.com. DRYAD Global. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  6. ↑ "UAE, and joint naval force after Rwabee hijack". Tactical Report. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  7. ↑ "Somali pirates return, adding to global shipping crisis". Reuters. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  8. ↑ Singh, Gurjit. "Maritime menace: Resurgence of Somali piracy". orfonline.org. Observer research Foundation. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  9. ↑ "ReCAAP ISC Annual Report 2022" (PDF). recaap.org. ReCaap. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  10. 1 2 "Maritime Piracy Incidents at Lowest Levels in Decades". hstoday.us. Homeland Security Today. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  11. ↑ "Piracy, sea robberies in the Singapore Strait on the rise: Anti-piracy group". The Straits Times. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  12. ↑ "IMB: 37 piracy incidents reported since beginning of 2022". safety4sea.com. Safety4Sea. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  13. ↑ "Singapore Strait Remains a Hotspot for Maritime Armed Robbery". maritime-executive.com. The maritime executive. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  14. ↑ "Shipping industry says piracy off coast of Somalia is no longer a threat". Financial Times. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  15. ↑ "Piracy, Armed Robbery Declining in Gulf of Guinea, But Enhanced National, Regional Efforts Needed for Stable Maritime Security, Top Official Tells Security Council". United Nations. 2022-11-22. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  16. ↑ S/2022/819 (22 November 2022). "The situation with respect to piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia" (PDF). un.org. United Nations. Retrieved 22 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ "9 pirates being brought to India to face legal action, says Navy a day after rescuing 23 Pakistani crew from Iranian fishing vessel". The Economic Times. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  18. ↑ "Cyber pirates". maritime-executive.com. The Maritime Executive. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  19. ↑ "Cyber Pirates Prowling Ship Controls Threaten Another Big Shock". Bloomberg News. Bloomberg. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  20. 1 2 "Korean Tanker Boarded by Pirates for the Second Time in Gulf of Guinea". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  21. ↑ "PIRACY: For Second Time in 2022, Korean Tanker; B Ocean Hijacked in Gulf of Guinea". Daily Trend. Daily Trend Media Network. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  22. ↑ "Yemen's Houthis reject UN call to free UAE-flagged ship". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  23. ↑ "Yemen's Houthis release crew of seized Emirati cargo vessel -spokesman". Reuters. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  24. ↑ "U.S. Navy Foils Iranian Attempt to Capture Unmanned Vessel in Arabian Gulf". dvidshub.net. DVIDS. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  25. ↑ "US says Iran seized and then released American sea drone in Persian Gulf". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
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