KUALA LUMPUR: Pirate attacks on ships worldwide jumped 20 percent last year driven by a record spate of kidnappings off West Africa, a maritime watchdog said Wednesday, urging increased sea patrols. A total of 195 incidents of piracy and armed robbery were reported, up from 162 in 2019, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said in its annual report. Out of 135 sailors abducted globally last year, 130 of them were recorded in the Gulf of Guinea off West Africa - the highest ever number of crew members kidnapped in the region.

The gulf stretches thousands of kilometres from Angola in the south to Senegal in the north, and its waters are considered among the world's most dangerous for piracy.