"The monsoon weather that had been deterring piracy further out to sea ended in mid-September, opening the way for renewed attacks," the IMB said.

The IMB said pirates were increasingly attacking ships in the South China Sea and Indonesian waters and fewer in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea. The bureau reported a drop in piracy attacks that stem from Somalia.

"The actions of the navies in the Gulf of Aden and the Somali basin have to be once again commended," IMB director Pottengal Mukundan said. "Increased intelligence gathering coupled with strategic placement of naval assets has resulted in the targeting of suspected pirate action groups before they become operational.

Still, the bureau reported the Somali use of ocean-going fishing vessels to intercept ships as far as the southern Red Sea. The Somalis were said to have been armed with automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades.

In a statement on Oct. 18, the London-based IMB reported a significant decline in Somali piracy. The statement said attacks by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden dropped from 100 for the first nine months of 2009 to 44 for the same period this year.

The sharp drop in Somali piracy was said to have caused a decline in global piracy. In the first nine months of 2010, overall piracy attacks dropped to 289, compared to 306 in the same period last year.

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