According to the International Maritime Organisation, 266 committed or attempted acts of piracy were reported last year. Although this was a lower figure than in 2004, in part because many small-time pirates died in that December’s tsunami, risk experts say that a more brazen, violent and organised strain has emerged. Pirates are said to have injured or assaulted 152 crew in 2005; they abducted 652, of whom 11 are still missing. They hijacked 16 ships; a tug and a barge are unaccounted for.
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