Defense Media Network

Pirates Took a Thousand Hostages in 2010

By Edward H. Lundquist - December 31, 2010

Marines assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Maritime Raid Force, embarked aboard the U.S. Navy amphibious transport dock ship USS Dubuque (LPD 8), board the M/V Magellan Star during a board and seizure operation. The Marines took nine suspected pirates into custody and transferred them to the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59). The ship’s eleven crew members resumed control of Magellan Star. Pirates took control of the ship Sept. 8, 2010. U.S. Navy photo by Cmdr. Christopher Nodine

Here are the latest worldwide maritime piracy incident statistics for 2011, as of Dec. 29, 2010, from the non-governmental and non-profit International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Commercial Crime Services:

Total Attacks Worldwide: 440

Total Hijackings Worldwide: 51

Incidents Reported for Somalia:

Total Incidents: 218

Total Hijackings: 47

Total Hostages : 1001

Current vessels held by Somali pirates:

Vessels: 26

Hostages: 617

ICC Commercial Crime Services (CCS) is the anti-crime arm of the International Chamber of Commerce. Based in London, CCS is a membership organization tasked with combating all forms of commercial crime. The IMB Piracy Reporting Centre is located in Singapore.