Kuala Lumpur - Global seafarers faced an alarming rise in pirate attacks last year, with an unprecedented 49 ships beings seized and 889 crew members held for ransom, a maritime watchdog said Friday.

A total of 293 attacks were recorded in 2008, from 263 recorded in the previous year, the London-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said in its yearly report from its reporting center in Kuala Lumpur.

It also noted a surge in the number of violent attacks last year.

A total 46 vessels were fired upon, 32 crew members injured, 11 killed, 21 missing and presumed dead, the report said. The number of incidents in which guns were used nearly doubled from 72 in 2007 to 139 last year.

"In terms of crew taken hostage, the 2008 statistics surpass all figures recorded," said IMB Director Pottengal Mukundan.

Attacks in the east coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden made up 38 per cent of the attacks at 111 cases.

Other hotspots for high-seas piracy include Nigeria with 40 attacks and Indonesia with 28, the IMB noted.

The IMB urged governments to heighten security patrols in their waters and ships to remain vigilant against attacks. (dpa)