News / Somali pirates' heyday is over, but maritime crime hotspot moves to Gulf of Guinea

The efforts of the Indonesian navy have contributed to a fall in pirate activity in south-east Asia © Mochammad Risyal Hidayat

Piracy in South-east Asia more than halved in the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period last year, thanks to action by maritime law enforcement agencies in the region.

According to maritime security intelligence firm Dryad Maritime, just 13 cases of maritime crime were reported in the first quarter of 2016, compared with 35 cases in Q1 15 – however, an increase in terrorist-related activity was an ominous portent.

Ian Millen, chief operating officer of Dryad Maritime, said: In South-east Asia, regional security forces and ...