Maritime piracy hotspots persist during 2020

Kristin Urdahl, of Gard AS, reviews a tough year for shipping during the Covid-19 pandemic, made harder by increased piracy attacks

Adding to the Covid-19 hardships already faced by seafarers, 2020 saw a year-on-year increase in global piracy, with a record 130 crew kidnapped in the Gulf of Guinea, a continuing rising trend of armed robberies against vessels in the Singapore Strait and no improvements for robbery incidents in South America.