In its half year report on global piracy in 2019, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said that, out of the 75 seafarers taken hostage onboard or kidnapped for ransom worldwide, so far this year, 62 were captured in the Gulf of Guinea. Specifically, the attacks occurred off the coasts of Nigeria, Guinea, Togo, Benin and Cameroon.
The IMB report added that, out of the nine vessels fired upon worldwide, eight were off the coast of Nigeria. These attacks took place on average 65 nautical miles off the coast – meaning they are classified as acts of piracy.
The IMB however acknowledged a ray of hope in Nigeria’s fight against piracy; it noted that 21 incidents were recorded around Nigeria between January and June 2019, down from 31 in the same period of 2018. It commended the Nigerian navy for actively responding to reported incidents by dispatching patrol boats.
Even though the figures for half year, 2019 were a little more assuring than the previous years, they still tell a lot about the rating of Nigeria, and indeed the whole of Gulf of Guinea on the global piracy scale.
Historically, the Gulf of Guinea has been the epicenter of economic, political, military and cultural medley. The Gulf of Guinea is home to one of the world’s most important infrastructure, such as: undersea intercontinental communication cables, absolutely vital to global communications.
In addition, and equally important is the fact that about 70% of Africa’s oil production comes from the Gulf of Guinea, which also holds about 5% of the world’s total proven reserves.
The good news is that, there is a significant demonstration of determination to stem tide and ensure that the nation’s coast and territorial waters are safer.
Perhaps, the most significant credence to the fact that Nigeria, through the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is set to tame the menace of piracy, is the recently signed Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences Bill, 2019, otherwise called ‘Anti-piracy Bill’.
By its assent, the Anti-piracy Bill, gives effect to the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982, and the International Convention on the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Navigation (SUA), 1988, and its Protocols.
In the words of NIMASA, the new law will herald a dramatic improvement in security on the country’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.
According to NIMASA, besides addressing maritime insecurity, the new law, very importantly, also fulfills the international requirement for stand-alone legislation on piracy, as against the approach of using the Maritime Operations Coordinating Board Amendment Bill to criminalise piracy.
Also, significant is the fact that, NIMASA’s Command, Control, Computer Communication and Information Centre, otherwise known as the C4i Centre of the Deep Blue Project has commenced operations on a 24-hour basis.
According to NIMASA, the C4i Centre located at the NIMASA Maritime Resource Development Facility in Kirikiri Lagos is to serve as the Command and Control Centre for the deep blue project where tactical and strategic decisions for the operational workflow of all the platforms of the project will emanate from. It is equipped with alert setting capabilities, Coastal Automatic Identification System (AIS) and SAT AIS signals all over the world, liaison with some international security networks for access to database for vessel movement, ability to monitor vessels movement going back to six years backwards.
While commissioning the centre, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside had stated that the Centre is in line with the Federal Government’s Deep Blue Project initiative, geared towards the realization of a safe and secured maritime domain in Nigeria. He further added that to realise this laudable initiative, the agency has trained some personnel, including staff of NIMASA who will man the control centre, which will bring to an end the nefarious activities of those perpetuating crimes in our waterways, through monitoring and intelligence gathering. He had assured that the C4I operational centre is the central nerve from which all actionable information needed by all other components of the project emanate. Dakuku assured that the centre will serve as the base for situational intelligence for the Deep Blue Project, with 40 personnel broken down into Operators, Intelligence Officers and Shift Supervisors manning the centre.
Added to the above is the grand plan to further deepen NIMASA’s strategy towards putting an end to sea piracy in Nigeria and in the Gulf Of Guinea where the country is the most dominant player. It is set to host the 2019 Global Maritime Security Conference (GMSC) between October 7th and 9th, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
And NIMASA says that the conference aims to facilitate a clearer understanding of the challenges of maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea region and develop tailored solutions as well as coordinate efforts at strengthening regional and international collaborations to extinguish maritime threats in the region.
Apart from the presence of key players in relevance sectors in Nigeria, global players who have confirmed their attendance are: Secretary General, International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Africa Union Commission Chairperson, and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) President, among others.
Also expected at the conference are: relevant Government Ministries and Agencies, Navy and Coast Guards, Regulatory bodies, Maritime Lawyers and Professionals Insurance firms, Banks and Finance Sector, Oil and Gas sector, High Level Industry Practitioners, Ship Owners, among others.
According to NIMASA, the all-important conference also “aims to define the precise nature and scope of coordinated regional responses to maritime insecurity vis-à-vis intervention supports from external actors/partners, evaluate the relevance and impacts of the various interventions initiated already to tackle maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea with a view to revising and adapting them to address the current challenges”.
Other objectives of the conference include moving decisively towards policy harmonization and effective implementation through regional integration and cooperation as principal method for delivering effective and efficient security in the region, tackling threats to maritime security, strategize alternative approach to prevent cyber security attack and other forms of emerging maritime security threats.
It is also expected that; delegates will seize the opportunity of the conference and the high net worth attendance to advocate for deeper global commitment to deployment of resources for ending maritime insecurity within the region.
Underscoring the importance of the Gulf of Guinea and the need to ensure its safety, while speaking recently at a one-day seminar organised by the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) in conjunction with NIMASA on the State of Food Security among member states of the commission, Dr Dakuku Peterside had observed that: “The Gulf of Guinea, aside being a major shipping route, is also home for many aquatic species and so the member nations of the region must do everything to safeguard the region from illegal fishing, piracy and other activities that may affect the food chain”
He added that, “NIMASA knows the importance of the region to the African continent and that is the major reason the agency has continuously championed collaborations among member states in order to develop the continent’s blue economy through sustainable shipping. So it is good for member countries to better understand the blue economy and how to properly harness the inherent potential of the Africa’s maritime industry”.
Executive Secretary of the commission, (which has been in existence since July 3, 200i) Florentina Ukonga, while speaking at the event, had commended the leadership of NIMASA for the big role the agency is playing, in ensuring safety of lives and property in the region.
Ukonga also made a strong case for concerted efforts on the part of the governments and citizens of countries within the Gulf of Guinea towards the protection of the region’s Blue Economy to forestall the devastating effects of the looming food insecurity in the region.
‘Fishing is an occupation practiced by almost all riverine populations. Artisanal fishing for maintaining self and the family and commercial fishing for providing other goods and services that may be needed must be encouraged. This can be developed to the level that no importation of frozen marine living resources from outside the Gulf of Guinea region will be necessary for consumption if our living marine resources are properly developed, harnessed, grown and controlled.
“There is strong evidence that major ocean assets have been in steady decline for many years, many of the living marine resources are in serious decline as a result of human activities at sea and there have not been any serious sustainable practices to deal with this serious threat in this part of the world”, she had argued.
Already, the list of attending nations has swelled to more than 32. This is in addition to representatives from the International Maritime Organisation IMO and the International Chamber of Commerce.
The current initiatives of NIMASA to draw attention to the Gulf of Guinea and ensure security in the region have received a major boost from the international business community. Key players in the global oil and gas as well as shipping businesses praised the initiatives at a recent maritime security meeting in London, which was chaired by the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organisation; Mr Kitack Lim;
It is instructive that, members of the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF), International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO), International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (INTERCARGO) have declared their commitment to collaborate with the IMO in support of NIMASA’s efforts to enhance security in the Gulf of Guinea.
Globally, maritime insecurity has economic, social, political and environmental implications, therefore, the top-rate conference is expected to sign-post a new vista of safety and security in Nigerian waters and of course in the strategic Gulf of Guinea.
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