Gulf of Guinea incidents decrease by 18% compared to 2013
Total number of attacks by region
Dryad Maritime issued a special report entitled “Maritime Crime Figures for 2014”.
The Gulf of Guinea saw an overall reduction in the number of incidents in 2014: a decrease of 18% when compared to 2013. Despite this overall reduction, the year saw a marked increase in the number of attacks resulting in the kidnap of senior crew from support craft and commercial vessels trading in the region. Fourteen vessels had crew taken captive last year, compared to eight vessels having crew kidnapped the previous year. Just two of last year’s attacks occurred inside Nigeria’s 12 nautical mile (nm) territorial waters, with the remainder further offshore where protection from security vessels is less available. A further 14 unsuccessful attacks took place within the Nigerian exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Analysis suggests that the vast majority of these criminal gang attacks were aimed at the kidnap of crew, especially given the areas and weaponry involved. Effective defensive measures employed by crews and security teams meant that these 14 attacks were aborted and were not added to the already higher statistics for kidnap or cargo theft.
This form of maritime crime, a simple extension of a type of crime endemic in Nigeria, is likely to continue in 2015. Victims will likely be released unharmed as long as shipping companies and owners negotiate with the criminal gangs and pay the ransoms demanded. Whilst it is understandable that such ransoms are paid to secure the safe return of crew, such payments will encourage criminals to persist with this lucrative form of maritime crime.
Just three product tankers were hijacked for their cargo of fuel oil during 2014, another steady decrease from a total of five such incidents in 2013 and seven in 2012. The picture could have been a different one with a further five tankers unsuccessfully attacked by heavily armed gangs during the year. The smaller number of successful attacks was, however, overshadowed by a record demonstration of criminal gang reach when Niger Delta-based pirates hijacked the Liberian flagged tanker, MT Kerala, from its Angolan anchorage – some 900nm from Nigerian waters.
Like the kidnap of crew for ransom, cargo theft is likely to remain on the menu of Nigeria based criminal gangs in 2015. The criminal reach demonstrated with the hijack of MT Kerala, the number of successful and attempted attacks in 2014 and the lack of any evidence that such gangs have been neutralised, suggests that further attempts at cargo theft will take place in 2015 across the region.
The maritime industry and its mariners welcome the continued decline in Somali piracy, but would be wise to avoid any complacency that might emerge from this encouraging picture. When something like the multi-faceted approach to the piracy problem appears to be working, the industry would be ill-advised to change the medicine. The current situation does, however, present opportunities for more innovative and cost effective approaches to risk mitigation. Armed guards play their part in the HRA and have clearly evidenced their effectiveness in recent years, but they are not needed on all vessels, in all areas and in all environments. Good maritime domain awareness, comprehensive risk assessments and vessel monitoring can be equally effective and more financially attractive in many circumstances.
In the Gulf of Guinea and Southeast Asia, the prognosis is for more of the same with the key concern being the level of violence used by criminals in both areas. Regional issues and the nature of the threat in these areas do not lend themselves to an Indian Ocean type solution, but there is plenty that ship operators and masters can do to reduce the risk of falling victim to crime, either themselves or with professional support.
The year ahead will doubtless present new challenges for the industry, but good preparation and consideration of the diverse range of threats will hopefully result in favourable, downward trends in maritime crime. Outside of the normal areas of maritime crime we are likely to see other risks from terrorism to civil strife. Avoiding complacency, doing the hard miles on risk mitigation and investing in protecting mariners are the absolute keys to success.
For more information please read the report by clicking on the image below:
Source and Image Credit: Dryad Maritime