According to a story published by BBC News, attacks on vessels in November 2011 were down 65% from 35 in November 2010 to 12 in November 2011.  Additionally, while 7 of the 35 attacks resulted in a hijacking in 2010, only 1 of the 12 attacks was considered ‘partially successful’.  The decline in attacks and hijackings can be attributed to several factors.  First, more ships are employing armed guards, second more ships are adhering to BMP4 and finally, the naval presence in the region is deterring attacks.  It will be interesting to see if the trend continues or if the pirates simply become more bold, or more violent in their pursuit of ransom money.