News
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB)’s Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) has unveiled in its annual Piracy and Armed Robbery Report that 116 incidents were reported against ships in 2024, compared to 120 in 2023 and 115 in 2022. In detail, 94 vessels were boarded, 13 attempted attacks, six hijacked and three fired upon.
While the number of reported incidents in 2024 remained similar to those in 2023 and 2022, the IMB, a unit under the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), urges caution to promote crew safety given an increase in the number of crew taken hostage or kidnapped—126 taken hostage in 2024, compared to 73 in 2023 and 41 in 2022.
Activity remains relatively lower in the Gulf of Guinea with 18 incidents reported in 2024, compared to 22 in 2023, 19 in 2022, 35 in 2021 and 81 in 2020. However, crew members remained at risk, with the region accounting for all 12 kidnapped crew and 23% of the total number of crew taken hostage in 2024.
Incidents in the Singapore Straits continued to rise with 43 cases in 2024, compared to 37 in 2023 and 38 in 2022. The 2024 IMB Piracy and Armed Robbery report revealed that 93% of vessels targeted were boarded and 11 large vessels of over 100,000 deadweight tons were targeted in this strategically important seaway.
A year-on-year increase in reported incidents was observed in the Indonesian archipelago, up from 10 in 2022 and 18 in 2023 to 22 in 2024. While 20 incidents remain under the definition of armed robbery, two fell under the definition of piracy.
The highest number of incidents in a decade was reported at anchorages in Bangladesh. The IMB recorded 14 incidents in 2024, of which 13 were onboard ships anchored at Chattogram and one at Mongla anchorage. Two crew were taken hostage and a further three threatened. Knives were reported in seven incidents.
