The Panther Bay
Pirate Blog

A quick review of summary data from the International Maritime Bureau  suggests a couple of interesting facts.

1. Successful hijackings aren't quite as common as headlines might suggest. Just 11.5% of the pirate attacks worldwide in 2010 resulted in actual hijackings.
2. While Somalia is the center for most pirating incidents, half of all pirate incidents occur in other regions of the world.
3. Somali pirates may be the most successful, accounting for 92.1% of all hijackings.

This suggests that most piracy incidents are probably mostly about robbery and theft, not physically taking ships and hostages. The economics of piracy around Somalia, however, makes hijacking the most lucrative goal for pirates in that region of the world.

My resolution for 2011: Do a better job of bloggin on piracy outside of Somalia.

Here are the statistics reported by IMB for 2010 as part of their Facts & Figures page:

Worldwide Incidents: (updated on 29 December 2010)
Total Attacks Worldwide: 440
Total Hijackings Worldwide: 51

Incidents Reported for Somalia:
Total Incidents: 218
Total Hijackings: 47
Total Hostages : 1001

Current vessels held by Somali pirates:
Vessels: 26
Hostages: 617