Piracy attacks top 400, says IMB

摘要

A total of 406 armed robberies at sea and other piratical incidents were recorded worldwide in 2009 by the International Maritime Bureau's (IMB's) Piracy Reporting Centre, according to its annual report.rnThis is the first time that the number of attacks has exceeded the 400 mark since 2003, and stands out as a significant spike in maritime crime levels already on an upwards curve. Over half of all the attacks occurred in waters off Somalia.rnReleased on 14 January, the IMB report's headline figure compares with 293 attacks in 2008 and 263 in 2007. The 2009 total saw 153 vessels boarded, 49 vessels hijacked, 84 subject to attempted attacks and 120 vessels fired upon. A total of 1,052 crew were taken hostage, 68 crew were injured, and eight killed.