Four attacks were recorded in the Gulf of Guinea in January, an increase from two last month. Notably, only one attack was an incident of low-level armed robbery. The remainder were attacks at distance from the Nigerian coastline. Due to severe under-reporting of piracy in the region, the actual number of attacks on merchant vessels is likely to be higher.
Four attacks were recorded in the Gulf of Guinea in January, an increase from two last month. Notably, only one attack was an incident of low-level armed robbery. The remainder were attacks at distance from the Nigerian coastline. Due to severe under-reporting of piracy in the region, the actual number of attacks on merchant vessels is likely to be higher.
Three attacks off the Nigerian coastline were recorded at distances of between 45-85NM from the shore. On 3 January, MV Tradewind was boarded and robbed south of Lagos, with reports of violence carried out on crewmembers and navigation equipment destroyed in the process. At 2015 on 9 January, a drifting Norwegian-flagged bulk carrier was boarded near the Usan oil terminal around 55NM south of Port Harcourt. The crew retreated to the citadel for 12 hours, emerging to find cash, possessions and ships stores stolen. The attack followed a failed attack on Liberia-flagged container vessel Nedlloyd Teslin while it was 85NM south of Bonny Island, which was deterred by the vessel carrying out evasive manoeuvres.
All three attacks confirm previous AKE reports of piracy moving further out in the Gulf of Guinea to avoid increased naval patrols near the coast. Reports suggest militants and criminals will hijack local fishing vessels to carry out attacks further at sea; attacks up to, and possibly over, 100NM from the coast are to be expected in short term. A properly secured citadel capable of sustaining life and communication with the outside world for up to three days is highly recommended in the region, where the availability of reliable armed protection and naval response is highly limited.
Various regional counter-piracy initiatives were announced in January. Ghanaian judges travelled to Kenya to study piracy prosecution mechanisms on 22 January, and Cameroon took delivery of three small patrol boats from the US Navy on 17 January. Such initiatives are positive, but will have minimal impact in reducing maritime security risks in the region for the foreseeable future.
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