Global Piracy Hits the Rocks

In the first quarter of 2016, only 37 incidents of piracy and armed robbery were recorded worldwide, down from 54 in the same period last year. However, despite the global downturn in piracy, incidents of maritime crime continue to occur in hotspot regions such as Southeast Asia and the Gulf of Guinea. Although piracy in Southeast Asia has decreased significantly, maritime crime persists in the region, albeit at a reduced frequency. In contrast to 2015 when 38 incidents were reported in the first quarter, only eight were recorded in Southeast Asia in the same period in 2016. Regional security forces have worked hard to reduce piracy in the region, especially tanker hijackings in the Singapore Strait. However, maritime kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), a militant Islamist group based in the Philippines, dampen the positive outlook. Between March and June 2016, the ASG kidnapped a total of 25 crew members from Indonesia and Malaysia in four attacks in the Sulu and Celebes Seas, off the coast of the Philippines. Subsequently, between May and June, some crewmen were released, reportedly without ransom payments. Maritime kidnapping by the ASG is not a new trend. However, according to recent reports, because of elevated security at coastal resorts and seaside towns – usual ASG kidnapping sites – the organisation has resorted to targeting foreign crews of slow-moving tugboats to procure funds. 

While the Horn of Africa has also seen a decline in maritime crime since 2013, piracy is on the rise in the Gulf of Guinea. Of concern is a rise in maritime kidnapping in the region: 16 kidnap victims have been recorded since January. In the first quarter of 2016, at least ten high-profile pirate attacks and attempted attacks have occurred in the Gulf of Guinea. Following a five-month hiatus in recorded incidents between May and September 2015, there is much uncertainty over the drivers of the latest spike in activity seen since October 2015, and more specifically, the increased intent for kidnap for ransom. In line with previous trends, pirate activity remains concentrated off the coast of Nigeria, leading many commentators to look onshore for the latest causes, which appear to be manifold. These include Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s January decision to cut the available budget for an amnesty package for former militants operating in the Niger Delta region by 70 percent. Yet the increase in kidnap for ransom attacks could also be seen as a tactical shift by Gulf-based pirates eager to maintain revenue amid the low global oil price and its impact on the black market for stolen oil.