Tag: Gulf of Guinea

Gulf of Guinea has become a popular target for pirates At the beginning of the month, Lloyd's of London, the world's leading marine insurance market, designated Nigeria and Benin as "war-risk" zones due to an escalation of piracy. While the vast of majority of the world's pirate attacks take place off the Horn of Africa and more specifically in the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Guinea has become a popular target for pirates looking to make a quick buck.The Gulf of Guinea is a major trade hub, and neighboring countries are increasingly sources of oil, metals, cotton and cocoa. Nigeria and Benin are the most affected, with 22 attacks since the beginning of the year, but other countries such as Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea have also suffered attacks. Nigeria, as Africa's largest source of oil production, is particularly dependent on secure waters for export. As piracy in the region increases, ships are forced to reroute. Trade flows are disrupted, and the added cost is shifted to consumers.Nearly 80 percent of global commerce is transported by sea, as it is the most efficient and cost-effective manner of cargo travel. The threat of piracy places an undue burden on the global ...

Since May this year, there have been increasing reports of pirate attacks in GoG Despite the best efforts of the world's navies and EU NAVFOR in particular, piracy inthe Indian Ocean/Gulf of Aden and Red Sea areas shows no sign of abating. Quite thecontrary, according to a report released by the International Maritime Bureau's PiracyReporting Centre in July this year. Of the incidents reported, over sixty per cent wereconducted by pirate gangs operating off the coast of Somalia and Arabian Sea. Indeed,the attacks were becoming more violent and pirates were taking much greater risks, theIMB stated.The success of Somali pirates has not gone unnoticed by criminals in other parts of theAfrican continent.Since May this year, there have been increasing reports of pirateattacks in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) and off the coast of West Africa. The incidentsprompted the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre to issue a specificwarning in June, citing eight attacks off Cotonou, Benin. Since then, the number ofattacks has increased significantly, although it's virtually impossible to accurately gaugethe amount of pirate activity due to insufficient reporting from the region. One securityanalyst told Reuters that, "In Nigeria it is estimated that approximately 60 percent ofpirate attacks go unreported"*.The ...

Crew was able to hide after the pirates boarded and fired their weapons Pirates attacked two Panamanian-flagged ships carrying oil off the coast of Benin on Wednesday but were driven off by the Benin navy before they could steal the cargo, authorities said.The incident was the latest in a string of attacks on ships in the Gulf of Guinea that experts say is threatening an emerging trade hub and a growing source of oil, metals and cocoa to world markets."The ships Golden Sifia and Aidin Panama alerted Benin's naval security forces of an armed attack," Navy Commander Maxime Ahoyo said."When we arrived on the scene we succeeded in chasing off 10 pirates, all Nigerians, who managed to break in but hurt no one."He said the 54 crew aboard the two ships, who were in the process of transferring oil ship-to-ship, were able to hide after the pirates boarded and fired their weapons.Some 26 pirate attacks have been recorded off Benin -- which neighbours oil-rich Nigeria -- since the start of the year, including an attack on an Italian diesel tanker last week.Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea is rising but is not on the scale seen off Somalia, where armed ...

A gang involved in the lucrative black market for stolen fuel appears to be the main culprit A surge in pirate attacks off West Africa has led to mounting concern in the shipping industry, and analysts say a gang involved in the lucrative black market for stolen fuel appears to be the main culprit.The increase in attacks in recent months has been concentrated along the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of the small nation of Benin, which neighbours Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer and where piracy has long been a problem.Unlike the explosion of piracy off the coast of Somalia on the opposite end of the continent in recent years, those involved in the recent West African attacks have so far not appeared to be after ransom payments.Two independent analysts said a relatively organised gang from Nigeria seems to be the prime suspect in the attacks, which have included pirates hijacking tankers and ordering them elsewhere to offload fuel to be sold on the black market.Other types of attacks have occurred as well off Benin, such as armed robberies where criminals board ships and make off with whatever they can.Fifteen piracy incidents off Benin have been reported so far ...

Pirates have taken opportunities with weak local maritime security structures Pirate attacks on ships in the Gulf of Guinea are threatening one of the world's emerging trade hubs and are likely to intensify unless the region's weak naval and coastguard defences are beefed up soon.Stretching from Guinea on Africa's northwestern tip down to Angola in the south, the Gulf spans a dozen countries and is a growing source of oil, cocoa and metals to the world's markets.While piracy has yet to hit levels seen off Somalia's coast, analysts say pirates have spotted a window of opportunity with weak local maritime security structures and a craggy coastline which offers natural hideouts from which to mount attacks."Piracy in West Africa is fundamentally different to Somali piracy as the perpetrators are interested in stealing cargoes rather than demanding ransoms," said Paul Gibbins of maritime security company Protection Vessels International (PVI)."It is reasonable to assume that the problem is likely to escalate if there are no resources to help police and control the situation," he added.Despite NATO and European Union operations to protect local shipping, there were 163 attempted or actual attacks by Somali pirates in the first half of this year, according to ...

A crime that costs the global economy 12 billion dollars a year Special Forces have made a major dent in piracy off the coast of Somalia. But after 2 tankers are attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea, analysts fear the pirates may be moving to new hunting grounds in West Africa.By sea and air, the world's finest military forces are hunting for pirates off the lawless Horn of Africa.This is a crime that costs the global economy 12 billion dollars a year.And now it looks like commanders may be getting results.The British navy says warships have stopped every hijacking attempt in the Gulf of Aden for almost a year.But according to Tracy Peverett from the International Maritime Organisation, this could be just a lull-during the monsoon storms.

The speed boat followed the tanker and finally the speed boat aborted the attempt The INTERNATIONAL MARITIME BUREAU (IMB) has issued the following warning:On 19 July 2011 at 2035 LT in position 0832S - 01218E, 60 NM of Luanda, Angola, a tanker underway was chased by a speed boat that tried to approach to the tankers port side. The tanker took evasive manoeuvres and increased speed to maximum. The speed boat followed the tanker and finally at 2155 LT the speed boat aborted the attempt.Vessels are warned that if passing through this area they are to exercise extreme caution. This area will remain high risk for the next 24-48 hours. The Maritime Administrator would take this opportunity to again urge all vessels operating in High Risk Areas to actively implement appropriate recommended Best Management Practices for anti-piracy measures as follows:Continue to maintain a heightened state of awareness; Maintain strict 24 hour anti-piracy visual and radar watches; and Report all attacks and suspicious sightings to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre ([email protected], +603-2031-0014).Source: IMB

Three of the pirates succeeded to jump on the ship and take control of it An Italian ship carrying diesel fuel was seized by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea on Sunday, local media reported.A total of 23 crew members, including two Italian sailors, 20 Filipinos and a Rumanian captain, were on board the ship when it was intercepted and assaulted by the pirates, state television Rai and ANSA news agency said.According to the Italian Foreign Ministry, the alarm was launched early in the morning when the vessel was sailing some 23 miles off from the Benin coast.Three of the pirates succeeded to jump on the ship and take control of it.The vessel "Rbd Anima e Core" belonged to a shipping company from Naples.The Foreign Ministry crisis unit is closely monitoring the situation together with Naples port authorities.Several Italian ships have been seized by pirates in recent months.Source: Xinhua

Attacks have been increasing off Cotonou Over the months of May and June 2011 attacks have been increasing off Cotonou, where vessels (especially tankers) have been reported hijacked for a few days.The hijacked vessels are forced to rendezvous with other local barges upon which cargo is stolen.As a reminder to members, the current security advisory for the Gulf of Guinea ishereby reproduced in BIMCO's security news.Introduction - the threats The Gulf of Guinea and the surrounding ports and waterways suffer from a substantial amount of maritime criminal activity, ranging from illegal fishing to piracy and militant activity against commercial assets. Piracy and maritime militant activity is particularly prevalent in the waters off Nigeria and in the Niger Delta. It ranges from simple boarding and robbery - especially in the waters off Lagos and within its ports - to attacks on ships and offshore facilities and the hijacking of vessels for ransom - most notable in the area near the Niger Delta.Robbers/pirates in the area sometimes wears uniforms. The behaviour of the robbers/pirates is often very violent towards the crew, because the purpose of the crime is to rob the valuables of the ship and crew, and normally not to hold ...