The crews of merchant ships are still under threat from piracy. Recently, there have been significantly more incidents than last year.
In the first three months, a total of 45 cases of piracy and armed robberies on ships were reported. Crime has increased on one waterway in particular.
As the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) states in its latest report, a total of 37 ships were boarded in the first quarter of 2025, four were hijacked and an attack was attempted on four others. Compared to the beginning of 2024, this is an increase of 35% – last year there were 33 incidents. Piracy also continues to be a risk factor for the crews themselves, according to the IMB. 37 crew members were taken hostage, 13 kidnapped, two threatened and one injured.
High incidence of piracy in the Strait of Singapore
One sea area in particular stands out in the statistics: more than half of all reported incidents occurred in the Strait of Singapore – 27 reports were received there, which is four times the number of reports from the same period last year. There was also an increase in attacks with firearms, which were involved in a total of 14 incidents. This is already more than half as many as the 26 reported in the whole of last year.
Oliver Wieck, Secretary General of ICC Germany, is concerned about this development. “The increasing use of firearms poses a massive threat to ship crews,” he said. “Especially in the Singapore Strait, one of the most important sea routes for international trade, the safety of crews and ships must be a top priority.”
The IMB advises shipping companies to continue to exercise caution off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Guinea. Two fishing boats and a dhow were hijacked off Somalia between February and March 2025 and 26 crew members were taken hostage. And although the number of reported incidents in the Gulf of Guinea is at its lowest level in almost two decades, crew members are more at risk than ever. The IMB therefore advises strict adherence to the current version of Best Management Practice (BMP). These guidelines were developed in collaboration with maritime organizations such as the ICS and Bimco and are designed to improve safety at sea in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea.
