Malacca Strait Pirates

INDONESIA - 2011/04/27: Henry Brea's partner on their 'speed boat' in the dusk of the Straits of Malacca. Many of their pirate attacks were conducted during the night under the cover of darkness. 585 people were taken hostage, six crew members were killed and 32 more were left injured from pirate attacks in 2012. The reported piracy in 2012 accumulated up to 297 seizures compared to about 439 in 2011. Part of the decline is due to effective combat against Somalian pirates. On a global basis, it is reported that cargo, bulk, container vessels and oil tankers are most at risk from pirate attacks, however, there have been cases targeted against fisherman and fishing boats. The Strait of Malacca is a narrow passage of the Indian Ocean located between the island of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia. The Strait's bordering countries are: Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It is around 800 km long at the narrowest parts only 2.5 km wide. Currently the world's busiest waters with approximately 60,000 ships passing per year. The transfers that happen through the Straits account for up to a quarter of total world trade making it of high importance to Germany, Russia and the USA. In International Maritime Bureau (IMB) was established in 1981 as a special division within the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) for the prevention and monitoring of all types of maritime crime, fraud, smuggling, hijacking and more. As part of the escalation in piracy, the IMB created a special section called the Piracy Reporting Centre in 1992 with headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The organization serves as a direct link between the crew members in distress and crime prevention authorities. Alerts and updates are coordinated and transmitted via satellite to the vessel that is in range of any attacks. (Photo by Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket via Getty Images)