​Piracy and incidents of robberies at sea have fallen in South and Southeast Asia in first-quarter 2013. The Singapore-based Regional Cooperation Agreement in Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia reported 28 incidents but ranked none “very significant” according to its system of rating the severity of attacks. In the first quarter of last year, it is reported that 38 incidents, down from 48 for the same period in 2011. The improvement was most apparent in south Asia, particularly in ports and anchorages in Bangladesh.  The improvement was reflected by the fact that no incidents were reported in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore between January and March and virtually all the reported incidents were robberies, with no reported injuries, although in one incident a crew member was assaulted.Published in Trade Winds, dated 26.04.2013