May 9, 2002

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Pirate attacks surged worldwide in the first three months of 2002, with Africa rivaling Southeast Asia for the first time as a high-risk region.

Also, the shipping industry is adopting new security measures amid fears that ships could become "weapons in a terrorist war" following the September 11 terror attacks, the International Maritime Bureau's piracy monitoring centre has warned.

Indonesian waters remained the world's most pirate-infested, with 22 of 87 attacks reported worldwide from January through March, the Kuala Lumpur-based centre said in its quarterly report.

But African countries had 32 attacks -- the continent's highest level in a three-month period since the monitoring centre began compiling statistics in 1991.

Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Somalia, Tanzania and the Red Sea were the worst-hit areas.

The global figure was up 28 percent from the 68 actual and attempted attacks recorded in the same period last year.

Noel Choong, the bureau's regional director, said the current global economic slowdown had probably contributed to the increase, as more criminals resorted to ship hijackings and theft in the world's poorer regions.

"It's easier to rob a ship compared to a bank, since ships are often unarmed," Choong told The Associated Press.

"Law enforcement officials have to step up patrols in their waters to catch these pirates and prove that the authorities mean business."

In its report, the centre said that merchant ships face the same sort of risks from terrorists as the aviation industry.

"The threat of ships being used as weapons in a terrorist war has spurred the maritime industry into action as never before," the report said.

The monitoring centre said ship operators are now being urged to screen temporary crew members, improve security technology and tighten pre-departure searches and cargo checks.

Pirates' methods remained crude, according to the report. Knives were the weapon of choice in 31 attacks between January and March, while guns were used in 17 cases. Bulk freighters, tankers and general cargo ships were the top targets.

Two ship crew members were killed and five injured in attacks this year.

Another 21 were missing, most of them crew from a Cambodia-flagged cargo vessel believed to have been hijacked in January after it left China's northeastern port of Weihai for Japan.

Copyright 2002 The Associated Press
http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/africa/05/09/africa.pirates.ap/index.html