KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Pirate attacks globally declined by nearly a fifth in the first half of 2010 from the same period last year due to a strong naval presence in the Gulf of Aden, a maritime watchdog said on Thursday.
The London-headquartered International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said its piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur logged a total of 196 incidents from January to June this year. There were 240 incidents in the first six months of last year.
"The actions of the navies in the Gulf of Aden have been instrumental in bringing down the attacks," said IMB director P. Mukundan in a report released by the bureau.
Foreign navies have been deployed off the Gulf of Aden since the start of 2009 and have operated convoys, as well as set up and monitored a transit corridor for ships to pass through vulnerable points.
Pirates operating off the Somali coast have contributed to a spike in the number of attacks with the global total hitting a six-year high of 406 last year.
