SEOUL-- Pirate attacks on South Korean ships dropped nearly 30 percent this year mostly due to a decline in cases in waters off the piracy-prone western Africa, the maritime ministry said Sunday.

The number of pirate attacks targeting South Korean ships came to 97 during the January-September period, down 27 percent from the previous year's 132 cases, according to the ministry.

The decline stemmed mostly from a fall in attacks in waters off western Africa, apparently thanks to recently beefed-up anti-piracy efforts off Nigeria.

During the cited period, 28 pirate attacks on Korean ships were reported from the region, down from 44 cases reported a year earlier, the ministry said.

Pirate attacks on Korean ships in the Asian region also dropped 37 percent on-year to 39 from the previous year's 62, the ministry said.

Of them, 20 attacks were reported in the Singapore Strait, a major shipping route for South Korean vessels, making up 51 percent of all pirate-related incidents in the Asian region.

The ministry said most pirate attacks in Asia are robberies, which can be heavily reduced by simply deploying more crew members to look out for threats while their ships are anchored or sailing.

Source: Yonhap News Agency