Piracy on the rise: 27 attacks in the first quarter of 2025!

Piracy on the rise: 27 attacks in the first quarter of 2025!

In the first quarter of 2025, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has determined a worrying increase in piracy incidents worldwide. The threat to the safety of ship crews has increased, especially on the strategically important street of Singapore, where 27 attacks and attempted attacks were reported. In the same period of the previous year, there were only seven incidents, which underlines the urgency of the situation. A company from Germany, the freight ship "Callao Express", was also affected when his crew was discovered in March 2025 near Ecuador two rapidly approaching boats and successfully alarmed the authorities and initiated evasive maneuvers.

According to the report of the ICC, the reasons for the increase in incidents in the street of Singapore are currently unclear. This is particularly alarming because in recent years this region has been one of the more dangerous for shipping. In addition to the newly registered incidents, the ICC finds that the general threat situation for crews describes itself as high, and emphasizes the need to protect safe sea routes.

Development in recent years

A look at the incidents recorded in 2024 shows that a total of 116 incidents of piracy and armed robberies were registered at sea, which is a slight decline compared to 120 incidents in 2023. Nevertheless, there was a significant increase in hostage frames, with 126 cases in 2024, compared to 73 in the previous year. This means an alarming increase of around 73%. In addition, 12 crew members were kidnapped and 13 threatened or injured.

In 2023, an increase of 120 incidents was recorded, which is a slight increase compared to 115 in 2022. While 105 ships were teated, 9 attempted attacks and 4 ships were successfully hijacked. The number of hostages and kidnappings that had similar increase rates were particularly striking. Oliver Wieck, General Secretary of ICC Germany, is concerned about the growing risk of ship crews and emphasizes the importance of safe sea routes for international trade.

regional focus

in 2024 specific geographical trends were also recognizable. Despite a decreasing number of piracy incidents in the Gulf of Guinea, with 18 reported cases, this region remained a focal point for hostage frames, since 23% of all affected crews were recorded there. The Singapore street, on the other hand, shows an alarming trend with 43 incidents, with almost all of the ships (-93%) of the ships being teated this year. In the Indonesian archipelago, an increase in 22 incidents was also recorded, which illustrates the urgency of the security measures.