An international maritime watchdog has urged Lloyd's to remove the Malacca Strait from a list of dangerous waterways, saying piracy attacks have fallen sharply there.
Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre, said: "Based on the figures, there is no justification for them to include Malacca Strait in the list, unless Lloyd's has some other information that we are not aware of."
Choong said the Malacca Strait is "not a hot spot at the moment" as the three states bordering the strategic waterway - Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore have launched aggressive joint patrols.
The Lloyd's Market Association's Joint War Committee decided last July to add the strait to a list of 20 areas worldwide, alongside Iraq, Lebanon and Nigeria, that it deemed security threats to shipping.
Choong's comments come after Lloyd's decided last month to retain the Malacca Strait on its war and terrorism listing.
"From our view, the problem areas now are Somalia, Chittagong in Bangladesh and Nigeria," Choong added.
