Pirate kidnappings hit record high in 2010

Global piracy grew to its worst-ever point in 2010, with a record number of seafarers being kidnapped, especially off the coast of Somalia, a maritime watchdog said Tuesday.

Across the globe, pirates hijacked 53 ships and kidnapped 1,181 people last year, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said in a report.

"These figures for the number of hostages and vessels taken are the highest we have ever seen," said Pottengal Mukundan, director of the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre, which has monitored incidents worldwide since 1991.

Mukundan said that ocean-going fishing or merchant vessels were being taken over and then used as motherships to launch attacks farther out at sea. "They capture the crew and force them to sail to within attacking distance of other unsuspecting vessels."

Hijackings off Somalia accounted for 92 percent of all ship seizures, with 49 vessels captured and 1,016 crewmembers taken hostage, the IMB report said. As of December, Somali pirates still held 28 vessels and 638 hostages for ransom.

The IMB reported that the number of attacks has risen every year for the last four years, with 445 incidents reported in 2010, up 10 percent from 2009.

While attacks off the coast of Somalia remain high, the knock-on effect of an international anti-piracy armada was felt in the Gulf of Aden, where incidents were more than halved last year to 53.

"The continued presence of international navies is vital in protecting merchant ships along these important trade routes," Mukundan said.

Mukundan admitted that the power of battleships would not put an end to piracy and that the key to defeating the Somali pirates lay primarily on land.