Last Year, 151 Victims of Global Piracy Incidents... "No Harm to Our Citizens"

Increase in Damages Caused by Somali Pirates

Yonhap News

Last year, the number of crew members affected by piracy incidents worldwide increased significantly, but there were no casualties among our nationals.

According to the "2024 Global Piracy Incident Trends" released by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries on the 18th, a total of 116 piracy incidents occurred worldwide last year. Although this is 4 fewer than the previous year, the number of affected crew members increased by 32, totaling 151. Fortunately, there were no affected crew members of our nationality.

By region, incidents were reported in the following order: Asian waters (88 cases), West Africa (18 cases), and Somalia-Aden Gulf (8 cases). In Asian waters, most incidents had been livelihood-related maritime robberies, but last year, two cases of organized piracy involving ship hijacking and cargo theft were reported, calling for caution.

In the Somalia-Aden Gulf region, where only one incident occurred in 2023, eight incidents were reported last year, sharply increasing the piracy risk in this area. Among these, three vessels were hijacked, and there were also three cases (involving 50 crew members) of temporary crew detention, necessitating a high level of vigilance.

Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, Gang Do-hyeong, stated, "The forms of piracy incidents are diversifying worldwide, and damages caused by Somali pirates are increasing," adding, "We urge our vessels and industry to refer to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' latest piracy information and strengthen piracy damage prevention activities."

The "2024 Global Piracy Incident Trends" report and the "Regional Piracy Risk Index" can be accessed through the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' Marine Safety Integrated Information System.