Nearly half them occurred in Southeast Asian waters, particularly in the Singapore Straits while the previous title holder, West Africa's Gulf of Guinea saw only even incidents reported, the IMB said.

Almost 30 per cent of all incidents took place in the Singapore Straits. In the 11 reported incidents in these waters, two crewmen were threatened and one taken hostage for the duration of the incident, the IMB report shows.

"Perpetrators are armed in most incidents, putting crews at risk even in the low-level opportunistic incidents," said IMB director Michael Howlett.

"Coastal States are urged to increase efforts to identify and apprehend these criminals to enhance maritime security and facilitate safer trade across these important and strategic waterways."

As a region, South American ports account for 27 per cent of the global incidents, with 10 reported events. Particularly, Callao anchorage in Peru remains an area of concern, with six incidents reported in the first three months of 2022 compared to five incidents during the same period last year and only one in 2019, the report shows.

Although no incidents were reported in the Red Sea and in the Gulf of Aden, Somali pirates continue to possess the capability and capacity to carry out attacks, the IMB said.

The IMB is a department of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce, with responsibilities in fighting crimes, particularly piracy and commercial fraud, and in protecting the crews of ocean-going vessels. It maintains a reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur.