Ina report issued Thursday it said 188 incidents took place in the firstnine months of 2013, down from 233 for the same period last year.

Hostage-takinghas also fallen markedly, with 266 people taken hostage this year, comparedwith 458 in the first three quarters of 2012.

Inthe first nine months of 2013, IMB’s global figures show pirates hijacked tenships, fired at 17, and boarded 140.