Vigilance has helped reduce piracy in the region’s seas

Incidents of piracy in the Gulf of Oman, the north Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el Mandeb, the strait between Arabia and Africa have been reduced.

DUBAI // Regular monitoring and patrols by international naval forces, high alert levels maintained by owners and merchant ship crews has reduced armed incidents in the Gulf of Oman, the north Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el Mandeb, the strait between Arabia and Africa.

Sharing intelligence information, self-protection measures and armed guards on board merchant vessels helped stave off pirate attacks.

Piracy in the region became a serious concern in 2008 when Somali raiders attacked 111 ships and hijacked 42 vessels.

The International Maritime Bureau recorded 217 attacks by Somali pirates in 2009, with 219 attacks in 2010, touching a peak of 237 attacks and 224 hostages taken in 2011.

There were 75 attacks reported in 2012, 15 cases in 2013 and nine incidents reported until August 2014, IMB numbers said.

Of these, there were 51 hijackings off the Somali coast in 2009, 49 hijackings in 2010, 28 hijackings in 2011, the figure dropped to 14 in 2012 and to zero in 2013.

Somalis say piracy, which became lucrative in the 1990s, stemmed from conflicts between fishermen and foreign trawlers that illegally fished and dumped toxic waste off its coast.

After the 2012 elections, the government promised to end civil war, insurgencies and inter-clan conflict more than 20 years after dictator Siad Barre was removed from office in 1991.

The international community has backed programmes to bring stability and peace to Somalia by working with local groups to fight piracy. The efforts cover creating employment for women and youth, food aid, reaching drinking water to inaccessible areas hit by shortages, education and health programmes and relief in drought prone areas.

Other global piracy hotspots include West Africa, Southeast Asia and the South China Sea.