MERCHANT MARINE INTEREST

India’s bid to reverse expanded high risk area gets a boost as pirate attacks drop

The expansion of so-called high risk area covering almost all of the west coast had triggered a 300-fold jump in ship insurance costs. Report by P Manoj for the Wall Street Journal's "Live Mint"

IMAGE SOURCE: CIA (PD)

From: Wall Street Journal's "Live Mint"

"Piracy at sea dropped to its lowest levels in six years, according to a global agency that tracks piracy, giving India the strongest backing yet in its efforts to reverse a December 2010 decision by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and marine insurers to expand the areas judged prone to pirate attacks.

The expansion of the so-called high risk area covered almost all of India’s western coast, triggering a 300-fold jump in ship insurance costs and, in turn, raising the transaction cost of commodities shipped to Indian ports.

Globally, 264 attacks were recorded in 2013, a 40% drop since Somali piracy peaked in 2011, according to the London-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB). Only 15 incidents were reported off Somalia in 2013, down from 75 in 2012 and 237 in 2011, according to IMB’s annual report released on 15 January." Read the entire story :Wall Street Journal's "Live Mint"