2023 Annual IMB Piracy and Armed Robbery Report 15 January 2024 No.1253 Tweet Download PDF (13,206KB) We have received the 2023 annual piracy and armed robbery report from the International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Centre (IMB PRC) together with the summary below. For more details, please refer to the attached files. Summary The 2023 IMB annual report recorded 120 incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships in 2023 compared to 115 in 2022. There was a 91% success rate in vessel boarding with 105 vessels boarded, nine attempted attacks, four vessels hijacked and two fired upon. The IMB urges caution for crew safety as the number of crew taken hostage and kidnapped increased from 41 to 73 and from two to 14 in 2022 and 2023 respectively. A further 10 crew were threatened, four injured and one assaulted in 2023. The majority of the successful incidents were reported while vessels were anchored or steaming as per below. Status when Attacked ATTEMPTED BOARDED FIREDUPON HIJACKED Grand Total ANCHORED 5 56 2 63 BERTHED 1 10 11 STEAMING 3 39 4 46 Grand Total 9 105 2 4 120 Regions where incidents reported. Region ATTEMPTED BOARDED FIREDUPON HIJACKED Grand Total AFRICA 3 1 4 GULF OF GUINEA 3 14 2 3 22 AMERICAS 4 15 19 EAST ASIA 3 3 INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT 5 5 SE ASIA 2 65 67 Grand Total 9 105 2 4 120 Somali Piracy The successful hijacking of a merchant vessel in December 2023; the first since 2017; does raise the question – has Somali based piracy resurrected? Dhows, traditionally used as mother ships have also been reported as hijacked. These incidents are a cause of concern as they demonstrate the continued capabilities of the Somali pirates. The IMB is once again calling for all masters and vessel owners to continue following the recommendations and reporting procedures as per the latest version of the Best Management Practices (BMP). Gulf of Guinea While the number of reported incidents continues to be lower than 2021 (35 reported incidents) and 2020