The International Maritime Bureau says that more than 20
sailors were killed by pirates in 2003 – twice as many as
the previous year. Seventy are missing, presumed dead. The
Malaysian based organisation says piracy is increasingly
becoming an Asian problem, with Indonesia the most
dangerous area.

South and East Asia recorded twice as many as the rest
of the world put together. More than a quarter of the
world’s piracy took place in Indonesian waters, and without
action from the Indonesian Government, the figures will not
drop, the board said. Bangladesh is also a piracy hot spot
where incidents almost doubled last year over 2002.
Nigeria, Vietnam and India all have serious problems.

Other trends are also emerging: ships are now less
likely to be hijacked for their cargo; attackers, possibly
from militant groups, are seizing ships and ransoming their
crew. Another concern is that oil tankers have become a
common target and security experts fear a tanker could be
used as a floating bomb to attack a city.