Pirates target Red Sea shipping

Pirates target Red Sea shipping    Acts of piracy declined worldwide and in the waters off Somalia during the first half of this year compared to 2009, according to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Center.
   Commercial shipping continues to be vulnerable to Somali pirate attacks, but the attacks have significantly shifted from the Gulf of Aden to the waters off the East Coast of Somalia, including attacks up to 1,000 miles away in the Indian Ocean, the IMB said. It warned that the southern Red Sea has become a new area of activity for pirates because it is mostly sheltered from the monsoons that are now springing up in the open ocean.
   There have been 100 pirate attacks so far this year in the Somali region, 27 of which resulted in ships being hijacked. The IMB attributed the decrease from the same period in 2009 to increased activity by international navies to disrupt pirate groups and better security precautions undertaken by vessel operators.
   Overall, there were 196 incidents of piracy around the world compared to 240 during the first two quarters last year. The figure includes 31 vessels hijacked, 48 fired upon and 70 vessels boarded.
   From January to June, one crewmember was killed, 597 were taken hostage and 16 were injured.