43 cases of piracy against ships in Asia in first half of 2009

SINGAPORE, July 29 -- A total of 43 incidents of piracy and armed

robbery against ships were reported in the Asian region in the first six months

this year, a report said here on Wednesday.

According to the half yearly report by Regional Cooperation Agreement on

Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information

Sharing Center, 38 cases were actual incidents and five were attempted

incidents.

Of the 38 actual incidents, eight were incidents of piracy and 30 were

incidents of armed robbery. Seven incidents of piracy were reported in the South

China Sea and one incident was reported in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

Overall, there has been a decline in the total number of incidents during

the first six months of this year compared to the same period of 2005 to 2008.

The drop in the number of reported incidents was due to the decline in the

number of attempted incidents.

Notably, the number of incidents reported at ports and anchorages had

reduced significantly and these were mostly less significant

incidents.