…As Six fishermen go missing in capsize off Australian coast***
A total of 121 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships were reported in the first nine months of 2017, according to the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) latest quarterly report on maritime piracy.
In total, 92 vessels were boarded, 13 were fired upon, there were 11 attempted attacks and five vessels were hijacked in the first nine months of 2017.
The flagship global report notes that, while piracy rates were down compared to the same period in 2016, there is continuing concern over attacks in the Gulf of Guinea and in South East Asia. The increase in attacks off the coast of Venezuela and other security incidents against vessels off Libya – including an attempted boarding in the last quarter – highlights the need for vigilance in other areas.
While only three low-level incidents took place in Venezuela during the same period in 2016, the number this year racked up to 11. All vessels were successfully boarded by robbers armed with guns or knives and mostly took place at anchorage. Four crewmembers were taken hostage during these incidents, with two assaulted and one injured.
No incidents were reported off the coast of Somalia in this quarter, though the successful attacks from earlier in the year suggest that pirates in the area retain the capacity to target merchant shipping at distances from the coastline, the report said.
Nigeria remains risky, as there were 20 reports received against all vessel types for Nigeria, 16 of which occurred off the coast of Brass, Bonny and Bayelsa. Guns were reportedly used in 18 of the incidents and vessels were underway in 17 of 20 reports. 39 of the 49 crewmembers kidnapped globally occurred off Nigerian waters in seven separate incidents. Other crew kidnappings in 2017 have been reported 60 nautical miles off the coast of Nigeria.
“In general, all waters in and off Nigeria remain risky, despite intervention in some cases by the Nigerian Navy. We advise vessels to be vigilant,” said Pottengal Mukundan, Director of IMB.
“The number of attacks in the Gulf of Guinea could be even higher than our figures as many incidents continue to be unreported.”
In the meantime, six fishermen are missing after their trawler capsized and sank off the east coast of Australia.
A seventh man managed to survive being stranded for about 12 hours in waters near the Queensland town of Seventeen Seventy, according to authorities.
He survived by clinging to the boat’s hull before treading water until he was seen by a passing yacht, local media said.
Search teams have found debris but no trace of the missing men.
The 17m (55ft) commercial fishing trawler, Dianne, capsized at 19:30 local time on Monday (09:30 GMT) and sank about five hours later.
The Courier Mail newspaper named the rescued man as Ruben McDornan, and reported that he had heard crewmates trying to escape the vessel after it capsized.
Mr McDornan was saved on Tuesday morning after a yacht crew heard his cries for help.
“It was only through sheer luck that a passing couple on a yacht managed to hear the screams of the individual that was rescued,” said Queensland police Sgt Jeff Barnett, the search co-ordinator.
“If it had not been for that we still wouldn’t know.”
Police said they had not detected any emergency transmissions or beacons from the vessel.
Wet weather hindered the search on Tuesday. Search vessels, aircraft and local trawlers returned to the area on Wednesday.
World Maritime News with additional report from BBC
