Under the recent piracy events that took place and led to the hostage of seafarers, ITF’s section chair David Heindel called on the shipping industry, governments and unions to work collaboratively to eliminate piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
As Mr Heindel stated
Alarmingly, the frequency and severity of attacks on vessels in the Gulf of Guinea is increasing, with a spate of recent kidnappings and ruthless acts of violence in recent months. The entire maritime industry urgently needs to take action to improve prevention, reporting and response to attacks across the Gulf.
He further noted that all coastal countries in the Gulf of Guinea should partner with the industry and the unions to identify the piracy actions and tackle piracy in the Gulf to protect the seafarers.
Although dealing with piracy is a challenge due to the international regulatory environment, the industry should continue supporting capacity and cooperation to be able to “address the mounting human toll that these attacks are having on lives and physical and mental health transiting through the waters of West Africa.”
Mr Heindel proceeded to these comments, as the previous week two piracy incidents took place in the same area; Accordingly, on November 2, pirates kidnapped nine crew members from the Norwegian-flagged MV Bonita while the vessel was at anchor off the coast of Benin in West Africa.
Similarly, two days later, on November 4, four crew members were taken hostage off the coast of Togo from the Greek-flagged Elka Aristotle.
Piracy and armed robbery have been long-standing problems in the Gulf, but in recent years, and months, the frequency of attacks is increasing.
Concluding, the International Chamber of Commerce International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported that the Gulf of Guinea accounts for 86% of crew taken hostage and nearly 82% of crew kidnappings globally.
