Pirates seized record 1,181 hostages in 2010 - report

[Gerald]

Pirates took a record 1,181 hostages in 2010, despite increased patrolling of the seas, a maritime watchdog has said. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said 53 ships were hijacked worldwide - 49 of them off Somalia's coast - and eight sailors were killed.The IMB described as "alarming" the continued increase in hostage-taking incidents - the highest number since the centre began monitoring in 1991. Overall, there were 445 pirate attacks last year - a 10% rise from 2009.Last week, a separate study found maritime piracy costs the global economy between $7bn (£4.4bn) and $12bn (£7.6bn) a year.

Measures 'undermined'

"These figures for the number of hostages and vessels taken are the highest we have ever seen," said Pottengal Mukundan, the head of the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre. In the seas off Somalia, the IMB said, heavily-armed pirates were often overpowering fishing or merchant vessels and then using them as bases for further attacks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12214905




Note: 18 January 2011 Last updated at 10:23 GMT