Cost of Somali piracy slumps as attacks fall -report

A small boat being towed by a suspected pirate mothership is destroyed February 2, 2011 by weapons fire from the guided-missile destroyer USS Momsen after the Momsen disrupted an attack on a commercial oil tanker in the Arabian Sea. REUTERS/Chief Hull Maintenance Technician John Parkin-US Navy/Handout

LONDON (Reuters) - The cost of Somali piracy to the global economy fell by almost half last year as attacks slumped, but piracy in West Africa was on the rise, an annual security report said on Wednesday.

The Oceans beyond Piracy report put the total cost of Somali piracy - by far the largest single threat to international shipping in recent years - at only $3.2 billion (1.88 billion pounds) in 2013.