Dhaka, Bangladesh (AHN) – Bangladesh has been removed from a list of “high risk” piracy prone areas compiled by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), an anti-crime warning unit of International Chamber of Commerce. Bangladeshi authorities lobbied the IMB to remove itself, since the designation increased the cost of insurance to cargo ships destined for Chittagong in the Bay of Bengal.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Khurshed Alam confirmed to news on Sunday. Bangladesh wrote a protest letter on December 20.

In the protest letter, Bangladesh stated that incidents reported to the IMB were mostly “petty thefts” or “robbery” and under no circumstances constituted genuine “piracy” since they took place well within 200 nautical miles from the coast of Bangladesh. Most incidents were reported at Chittagong anchorages and approaches, says the IMB website.

The IMB portal has since changed the status from a “piracy warning” to “piracy and armed robbery warning.”

For two decades the IMB has labeled Bangladesh as a “high-risk” area for piracy. However, Bangladeshi officials say that according to the definitions of the crime provided for by international law, there has been not a single case of piracy in their territorial waters during that period.

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