Under Attack

摘要

According to data recently published by the UK-based International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Bureau (IMB), 293 ships were subjected to piracy of one sort or another in 2008, an increase of 30 incidents (11.4) on the situation in 2007. It was a record level of activity since the IMB started recording such information in 1991. The increase in piracy was primarily attributable to the activities of Somali bandits operating off the Horn of Africa and in the all-important Gulf of Aden (GoA) corridor, which is one of the word's main trading arteries.The IMB report listed 111 incidents (almost 40 of the total) as having taken place in this region in 2008.