London (Platts)--6Oct2011/1020 am EDT/1420 GMT

Global piracy was up slightly in September and the number of attacks is expected to rise as the Indian Ocean monsoon comes to an end, shipping and marine services company GAC said Thursday.

There were 29 attacks reported in September, up one from August, according to the GAC's monthly piracy intelligence report.

It said attacks were likely to spread further south in East Africa near the Kenyan and Tanzanian coasts, and east into the wider Indian Ocean as sea conditions stabilize after the end of the monsoon season.

Article continues below...

Request a free trial of: Oilgram News
	Oilgram News brings fast-breaking global petroleum and gas news to your desktop every day. Our extensive global network of correspondents report on supply and demand trends, corporate news, government actions, exploration, technology, and much more.

"Attacks will continue to occur in traditional high-risk areas in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, but will increasingly occur further south and east into the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea as conditions improve," the report said.

The report also warned that attacks were expected to get more audacious and violent after lower pirate attack success rates and improved security on vessels.

The Gulf of Guinea and Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden were the two areas that saw the most attacks, with eight attacks reported in each of the zones.

Piracy in West Africa has been an area of concern for the last few months and more attacks were seen in September.

The majority of piracy attacks in West Africa continue to be low-level armed robbery of vessels anchored adjacent to urban centers with high crime rates, said GAC.

Nigeria and Benin launched joint-sea patrol named Operation Prosperity on September 27 to tackle a surge in piracy in recent months.

"Opportunistic theft and low-level armed robbery is likely to continue although may be limited in the short term by an increased naval presence off Nigeria and Benin," added the report.

--Eklavya Gupte, eklavya_gupte@platts.com

Tweet