Piracy still posing a steady threat

Maritime crime figures have dropped in the third quarter of the year but piracy is continuing across the globe, posing a steady threat, a Dryad Maritime survey has found. It comes only a few hours after another piracy incident involving a Vietnam-flagged tanker was confirmed off Singapore. During the third quarter, five product tankers have been hijacked within the same area. The total number of incidents in Southeast Asia so far in 2014 has reached 30. Ian Millen, Dryad’s chief operating officer, said: “The number of attacks across the globe shows that maritime crime and piracy remain a threat to the shipping industry with cargo theft and kidnapping high on the agenda for organised criminal gangs.”