East Africa

• The crew of Aris-13, Asayr-2 and Al Kausar were each held for a matter of days.
• Crew members of the FV Siraj remain in captivity after 3 years
• A total of 1102 seafarers were affected by piracy and armed robbery in the Western Indian Ocean region in 2017.

West Africa

• The number of kidnap-for-ransom incidents rose slightly, from 18 in 2016 to 21 in 2017.
• OBP found that 100 crewmembers were taken hostage in 2017.

Crew Held Hostage

-Hostages kept for one day or less: 10
-Hostages held for more than one day and confirmed as released: 48 (Duration of captivity in these instances ranged from seven to 26 days)
-Hostages not confirmed as released: 42

Latin America and the Caribbean

• OBP found that 854 seafarers were affected by piracy and armed robbery incidents in 2017.
• Of the seven kinds of vessels found to be involved in piracy and armed robbery incidents, yachts were the primary target. Yachts were found to be involved in roughly 59% of all incidents.
• The longest captivity duration in 2017 was 264 days. The shortest was 4 days.
• Only 23% of attackers were found to be armed, reflecting that most of crime recorded in the area is robbery from ships at anchor.

• OBP calculated that 1908 seafarers were affected by piracy and armed robbery during 99 incidents in 2017, down from 2283 in 2016.
• Kidnappings were down from 67 seafarers in 2016 to 16 in 2017, reflecting the success of the trilateral patrols whose mission includes countering piracy and armed robbery and prohibiting the flow of armed militants around the Sulu and Celebes Sea region.
• The longest captivity duration in 2017 was 264 days. The shortest was 4 days.
• At least 6 seafarers who were kidnapped in incidents during 2016 were killed in captivity throughout 2017—bringing the total number of seafarers killed to at least 17.
• Nineteen incidents involved weapons.
• A total of 76 seafarers were threatened during kidnapping incidents, including one incident where attackers boarded a tug after firing at the vessel.
• In another incident, two crewmembers were wounded after attackers fired at the cabin doors.

Crew Held Hostage

-Hostages kept for one day or less: 1
-Hostages held for more than one day and confirmed as released: 9 (Duration of captivity in these instances ranged from four to 264 days)
-Hostages not confirmed as released: 3
-Hostages who died in captivity: 3