Danger of pirates on ships, India's DGS advises to be cautious – danger of pirates on ships India's DGS advises to be cautious

India's shipping regulator the Director General of Shipping (DGS) has advised ship operators to take extra precautions as incidents of piracy at sea have become higher than usual in recent years. Because of this, operation of cargo ships in international waters has become risky.

Last week, Malta's merchant ship MV Rouen was hijacked by unknown assailants in the Arabian Sea. This has increased fears that Somalian pirates have returned to international waters amid geopolitical instability.

In view of the increasing number of such cases, DGS has issued an advisory and advised to exercise caution.
A senior government official said, 'It is believed that several groups of pirates, which had been inactive for some time, have become active again. We are coordinating with seafaring stakeholders.

Many such incidents have also been witnessed on the Strait of Malacca, a major international shipping route. According to the DGS, there is a common cause for concern regarding maritime security in the Malacca and Singapore Straits.

According to the International Maritime Organization's Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS), incidents of piracy have increased from 45 in 2019 to 83 in 2023, indicating a sharp increase in such incidents.

The increase in incidents of conflict related to attacks using drones and missiles in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea is a matter of growing concern and is posing serious risks in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), the Indian Navy said in a weekly update. Is.

The shipping regulator said, 'This not only increases the risk to the lives of people traveling on ships, but also poses a significant threat to seaborne trade, cargo ships and seaborne trade as a whole. Ships owned by many countries have been attacked in the Red Sea and IOR and the reason for the attack and its intentions remain unclear.

An official said, 'Recently two centers have emerged. A group operating in the Red Sea is firing projectiles into what is generally considered a safe area due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Apart from this, there were two incidents involving Somali pirates and a ship was hijacked.

First Published – December 22, 2023 | 10:55 PM IST

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