Maritime piracy statistics are best read as records of reported incidents, not a complete census of every attack in history. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) recorded 9,014 piracy and armed-robbery incidents reported as occurring or attempted from 1984 through December 2024. Its 2024 annual total was 146 incidents worldwide. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) publishes a separate reporting series, so its 2024 figures should not be added to IMO totals.
Contents
- Global totals and recent change
- Where reported incidents concentrated
- Location and ship operating status
- Attacking-group size
- Hostage, kidnapping, and violence outcomes
- Attack methods, weapons, and vessel areas
Global totals and recent change
The IMO’s long historical series covers reported piracy and armed robbery against ships from 1984 through December 2024. The 9,014-incident total includes actual and attempted acts reported to the organization. It therefore describes the reporting record across that period rather than the total number of maritime attacks that occurred.
The latest three annual totals show a rise followed by a modest decline:
| Year | IMO-reported incidents | Change described by IMO data |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 131 | Baseline for the following comparison |
| 2023 | 150 | About 15% higher than 2022 |
| 2024 | 146 | About 2.7% lower than 2023 |
The IMO recorded 131 incidents worldwide in 2022, 150 in 2023, and 146 in 2024. Thus, the 2023 increase did not continue into 2024, although the 2024 total remained above the 2022 figure. These are annual reported totals, not forecasts or estimates of unreported activity. IMO, Annual Report – 2024; IMO, Annual Report – 2023
The IMO distinguishes piracy in international waters from armed robbery against ships in internal, archipelagic, or territorial waters. That distinction matters when comparing regions: an incident count can include different legal categories depending on where the vessel was attacked.
Where reported incidents concentrated
In 2024, the Straits of Malacca and Singapore dominated the IMO regional table with 91 reported incidents. The Indian Ocean followed with 19, while West Africa recorded 17. The South China Sea had 10, and the Arabian Sea had 7. South America (Caribbean) and South America (Atlantic) each recorded 1 incident.
The 2023 regional pattern was similar in its leading area but different in several secondary regions. The Straits of Malacca and Singapore recorded 85 incidents, West Africa 22, the South China Sea 14, and South America (Pacific) 14. The Indian Ocean had 5, the Caribbean 4, and the Arabian Sea 2.
| Region | 2023 incidents | 2024 incidents |
|---|---|---|
| Straits of Malacca and Singapore | 85 | 91 |
| West Africa | 22 | 17 |
| South China Sea | 14 | 10 |
| Indian Ocean | 5 | 19 |
| Arabian Sea | 2 | 7 |
The regional figures are not a complete worldwide breakdown across every possible location. The 2024 IMO regional tables cover the seven regions listed in that annual report, and zero or unstated categories are not treated as additional facts. The visible comparison shows both concentration and movement: the Straits total rose from 85 to 91, while West Africa fell from 22 to 17. IMO, Annual Report – 2024; IMO, Annual Report – 2023
Year-to-year regional comparisons also need a consistent time frame. The 91 incidents in the Straits and the 17 in West Africa are both 2024 counts, while the comparison values of 85 and 22 are both from 2023. The figures describe reported activity in each annual reporting period; they do not measure the age, duration, or recurrence of individual cases.
Location and ship operating status
The 2024 IMO figures show that reported incidents were not confined to one maritime setting. In the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, 62 incidents occurred in territorial waters and 21 in port areas. The same region also had 70 incidents involving a steaming ship and 20 involving a ship at anchor.
Other regions displayed different location and operating-status patterns. The Indian Ocean had 18 incidents in port areas and 18 involving a ship at anchor. West Africa had 12 incidents in port areas, 5 in international waters, and 12 involving a ship at anchor; it also had 5 incidents involving a steaming ship. The South China Sea recorded 8 incidents in port areas and 8 involving a ship at anchor. In the Arabian Sea, 7 incidents occurred in international waters and 7 involved a steaming ship.
These figures should be read as category-specific reported counts. They do not establish that every incident in a region occurred in only one setting, nor do they provide a universal measure of risk per voyage, port call, or nautical mile. The statistics show where reported incidents were classified and whether the affected ship was described as steaming or at anchor.
Attacking-group size
The 2024 IMO tables also record the reported number of attackers in selected regional incidents. Groups of 1–4 persons appeared in 48 incidents in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, 7 in the Indian Ocean, 6 in the South China Sea, and 4 in West Africa. South America (Caribbean) and South America (Atlantic) each had 1 incident involving 1–4 persons.
The Straits of Malacca and Singapore also recorded 32 incidents involving 5–10 attackers. That number is smaller than the 48 incidents involving 1–4 persons in the same region, but the categories do not describe every possible group size or every incident in the regional total. They should not be converted into a region-wide average without the remaining categories and denominators.
The pattern gives historical context to the phrase “pirate attack.” Reported incidents could involve a small boarding group rather than a large force, and the recorded group-size category is separate from the legal distinction between piracy and armed robbery. IMO, Annual Report – 2024
Hostage, kidnapping, and violence outcomes
Crew safety figures show why incident totals alone do not describe the human cost. The IMO reported 132 crew members taken hostage or kidnapped in 2024, compared with 92 in 2023. These counts rose even though the worldwide incident total declined from 150 in 2023 to 146 in 2024.
In 2024, the Arabian Sea recorded 44 crew members taken hostage or kidnapped, West Africa recorded 42, and the Indian Ocean recorded 9. Five West Africa incidents involved hostage or kidnapped crew. West Africa had recorded 68 crew members taken hostage or kidnapped in 2023, so its 2024 count was lower in this series while remaining one of the largest regional totals.
The IMB’s separate 2024 global report states that the Gulf of Guinea accounted for all 12 crew reported kidnapped in that report. This is an IMB statistic, not an additional amount to combine with the IMO’s 132-person figure. The two organizations use separate reporting series and their totals should remain distinct. IMO, Annual Report – 2024; IMO, Annual Report – 2023; IMB, Maritime piracy dropped in 2024, but crew safety remains at risk
Attack methods, weapons, and vessel areas
The IMB recorded 94 vessels boarded in 2024, 13 attempted attacks against vessels, 6 hijacked vessels, and 3 vessels fired upon. Its weapon reporting shows guns in 26 incidents in 2024, compared with 15 in 2023. Knives were reported in 39 incidents in 2024, compared with 42 in 2023.
The IMB also recorded 43 incidents in the Singapore Straits in 2024, with 93% of targeted vessels boarded. That percentage is a reported share for targeted vessels in that IMB regional series; it is not a percentage of the IMO’s 91 incidents for the broader Straits of Malacca and Singapore region.
In the Indonesian archipelago, the IMB recorded 22 incidents in 2024: 20 were classified as armed robberies and 2 as piracy incidents. This split illustrates why the legal setting matters when interpreting maritime statistics. “Piracy” and “armed robbery against ships” are related but not interchangeable labels in the reporting systems.
Together, the IMB method and outcome figures describe several different stages of an attack: boarding, attempted attack, hijacking, firing upon a vessel, and the presence of reported weapons. They do not provide a single severity score, and the categories should not be added together because one incident may fit more than one description. IMB, Maritime piracy dropped in 2024, but crew safety remains at risk