Maritime intelligence firm Dryad Maritime has released its latest quarterly maritime crime figures, which show piracy continuing across the globe at similar levels to the previous quarter and incidents of cargo theft in Southeast Asia continuing to rise.
Maritime crime across Southeast Asia continues at pace during the period, with a further five hijackings of product tankers in the vicinity of Singapore.
In addition, a further eight vessels were boarded while at anchor, taking the total number of similar incidents to 30 so far this year, with another tanker currently missing.
By contrast, in 2013, there were nine incidents in the same period.
In Indonesia, however, the number of incidents has fallen from 18 to five: a drop that Dryad Maritime attributes to the improved patrols and policy by the Indonesian Maritime Police.
Ian Millen, Dryad Maritime's Chief Operating Officer, said the number of attacks across the globe showed that maritime crime and piracy remained a threat to the shipping industry, with both cargo theft and kidnapping high on the agenda for organised criminal gangs.
"We can expect to see a continuation in incidents of boarding and cargo theft in Southeast Asia and in the Gulf of Guinea as criminal groups continue to prey upon the vulnerable and the unprepared," he said.
"In the Gulf of Guinea region, we're concerned about the West African Ebola outbreak and have made sure that our clients understand the extent of the problem and the implications for the shipping industry and individual ships' crews."
Following bouts of bad weather in the Horn of Africa, calm seas and light winds forecast over the next few months may see an increase in pirate operations.
Dryad continues to advise its clients to maintain a distance of at least 300 nautical miles from shore when transiting along the eastern coastline of Somalia.
