Kidnap for Ransom at 10-Year High

The Gulf of Guinea and Southeast Asia have seen a significant increase in kidnapping incidents in 2016.

News ID: 72268

Date: 12 February 2017 - 12:12

According to MANA, the 2016 figures show that 62 people were kidnapped worldwide in comparison to 19 in 2015 and 9 in 2014. While the number of mariners involved is small, compared to those held hostage at the height of the Somali pirate attacks in the Indian Ocean, “it is nevertheless a significant increase,” Dryad said.
Last year alone the number of pirate attacks off Nigeria increased by over 50%, the report further reads. The number of crew kidnapped reached 51, greater than the 31 abducted for ransom a year earlier.
“The overall global decline in maritime security incidents last year comes as welcome news to the industry but there is no place for complacency. The rise in the number of kidnaps at sea for ransom continues to pose a significant security challenge to seafarers and shipowners that cannot be ignored,” Graeme Gibbon Brooks, CEO Dryad Maritime, said.