In the first half of 2026, acts of piracy against ships have fallen to their lowest level since 1992. Il Piracy Reporting Centre of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) announced today whereas there were 38 accidents in the period compared to 90 in the first six months of 2025. However, the number of of acts of violence against the crews of the ships attacked, with 70 compared to 67 in the first half of last year, with a growth that was mainly determined by the increase in seafarers taken hostage - 67 against 40 -, 94% of which by Somali pirates.

In the first half of this year, 27 ships were boarded pirates (79 in the first half of 2025), five were seized (4), three were shot (1) and three ships escaped attack attempts (6). Most Number of attacks - 13 vs. 34 in the first half of 2025 - it was conducted against bulk carriers. The attacks against container ships were ten (13), those against the tanker six (23). There were also nine attacks (20) against ships of other types. The waters of Somalia have recorded an increase in the number of accidents - ten against three -, while those in the Gulf of Guinea decreased (two compared to 14) and in the Singapore Straits (12 against 57).

In the second quarter of 2026 alone, the total number of acts of piracy has more than halved as they have 22 verified compared to 45 in the same period last year.