Piracy attacks are falling worldwide but hotspots remain, including in Somalia where the removal of the Islamic government set back efforts to curb the problem, a watchdog said today.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said in its 2006 report that piracy attacks fell for the third year in a row, with 239 attacks on ships compared to 276 in 2005 and 329 in 2004.

"This shows a systematic decline not witnessed at any time since the PRC began its analysis in 1991," it said in a statement, referring to its Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Centre.

Indonesia, still the world's number-one piracy hotspot despite a fall in attacks since 2002, recorded a significant decline from 79 in 2005, to 50 in 2006, said the IMB.

It attributed the overall decline to an increased willingness to go public over attacks on ships, and greater action from governments in tackling piracy.

"The strategy is working and there are now signs the war against piracy can be won," said IMB director Pottengal Mukundan.

However, the IMB said there was still room for improvement, citing increased attacks in Bangladesh and in the port of Santos in Brazil.

Nigeria, which had 12 attacks in 2006 with 49 people kidnapped and three killed, also has to tackle increasing piracy, said the report.

Attacks in Bangladesh more than doubled to 47 in 2006, with 46 alone in Chittagong, the IMB said, chiding the government for not doing enough.

"Bangladesh says it is taking action but given that the attackers are concentrated in a very small area there is surely more they could do."

Situation in Somalia

In Somalia, the IMB said the December ouster of Islamists, who had restored a semblance of order during a six-month stint in control, did not bode well.

"Somalia's recent removal of the Islamic militia that had been taking such a hard stance on piracy was also of concern," it said.

"Within days of their influence being removed there had been an attempted attack on an American bulk carrier in Somali waters, the first for a number of months."

The interim government must control the militias or "face the prospect that pirate attacks will resume their previous levels," it said.

The IMB also said the port of Santos in Brazil, which saw seven attacks in 2006 from none in the preceding three years, was experiencing a wave of attacks on anchored container ships.

"The pirates board, break open containers and steal their contents, but the local police apparently do very little to tackle them on their return to shore," it said.

Overall worldwide in 2006, 15 people were killed and 188 taken hostage, with 77 cases of kidnapping for ransom, although many attacks went unreported, said the head of the Piracy Reporting Centre, Noel Choong.

"More than 50 percent of case go unreported each year, so there are more attacks than what you see here," he told AFP.

Choong warned against complacency despite the overall decrease, saying governments had to continue fighting piracy by maintaining sea patrols.

"The pressure must continue because once the pressure goes down, so will the patrols," he said.