Piracy on the increase and more violent - report
London, January 23 1998 - More than 50 seafarers were killed in increasingly violent pirate attacks on ships around the world last year, the ICC International Maritime Bureau said in its annual report for 1997.
The IMB urged countries to clamp down on piracy and said many attacks went unreported because authorities and shipowners were embarrassed. The report said there were 229 attacks on ships at sea or at anchor in 1997, a similar figure to that of the previous year.
Figures released by the IMB showed that pirates carried guns on 68 occasions and knives in a further 26 instances. Over 400 crew members were taken hostage during the year, compared with 194 the year before
"Modern piracy is violent, bloody and ruthless. It made all the more fearsome because its victims know they are alone and defenseless," said IMB Executive Director Eric Ellen.
"Seafarers have a basic human right to expect to sail on safe ships in safe waters and no one ashore can fully appreciate the trauma these types of attacks cause them, both physically and mentally."
Mr Ellen pointed out that pirates often endanger navigation by leaving vessels, including fully laden tankers, underway and without command, dramatically increasing the risk of collision or running aground.
He expressed concern that the shipping industry was doing too little to stamp out the attacks. Only a few vessels were fitted with recorders similar to the "black boxes" used in aircraft.
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