Recent piracy reports indicate that Nigerian pirates accounted for all 35 kidnapping of seafarers in the Gulf of Guinea in the first half of 2018. The report added that, Nigeria remains as the world’s epicentre for piracy activity.
According to the report, which also narrowed the source of attacks to two Niger Delta states of Rivers and Bayelsa: “From January through June 2018, EOS recorded 34 Nigerian pirate attacks on merchant and fishing vessels in the Gulf of Guinea? These attacks resulted in the kidnap of 35 seafarers for ransom and the hijacking of several vessels”
“Most concerning this year has been the resurgence of ‘petro-piracy’, involving the hijacking of tankers for oil theft,” said Jake Longworth, senior intelligence analyst at EOS Risk. “The return of petro -piracy has been accompanied by an associated increase in the geographical reach of Nigerian pirate gangs, leading to attacks in the waters of Benin and Ghana.”
It added that: “Following a flatlining in piracy activity off Benin since 2012, EOS recorded seven pirate attacks in the waters of Nigeria’s western neighbour in the first half of 2018. The attacks involved several successful tanker hijackings, one of which resulted in the loss of 2,000 MT of product. Nigerian pirates also operated in Ghanaian waters in April, kidnapping five seafarers from two vessels”.
Prior to the latest report, the International Maritime Bureau had in its first quarter 2018 report, also ranked next to lawless Somalia.
The 2018 report was as damning as the 2017 , in which the IMB said that: “A total of 20 reports against all vessel types were received for Nigeria, 16 of which occurred off the coast of Brass, Bonny and Bayelsa. Guns were reportedly used in 18 of the incidents and vessels were underway in 17 of 20 reports. 39 of the 49 crewmembers kidnapped globally occurred off Nigerian waters in seven separate incidents. Other crew kidnappings in 2017 have been reported 60 nautical miles off the coast of Nigeria.
“In general, all waters in and off Nigeria remain risky, despite intervention in some cases by the Nigerian Navy. We advise vessels to be vigilant”, it concluded.
In its first quarter 2018 report, the IMB said “out of the 66 cases, Nigeria alone recorded 22 incidents between January and March 2018. “Of the 11 vessels fired upon worldwide, eight were off Nigeria – including a 300,000 MT deadweight VLCC tanker more than 40nm off Brass”.
The IMB added that, “in these cases, the intent of the perpetrators is to steal the oil cargo and kidnap crew. The prompt detection and response to any unauthorised movements of an anchored vessel could help in the effective response to such attacks”.
Apart from attacks on ships enroute and at anchorage , the daredevils have become more daring; they now attack ships at berth. This has been happening in Lagos ports ceaselessly.
The list of ships that have been attacked at berth include : MV Pamyat, MV Asia Ruby, MV Aquata, MT Sichem New York, MV Kiana and MV Dino have been attacked at different times.
To authenticate this, a body of security officers in charge of the various terminals and jetties in Nigeria; the Port Facility Security Officers (PFSO) has confirmed increase in the spate of attacks on vessels at berth. It also described the development as very worrisome.
The forum said that the dislodgement of criminals from the Atlas Cove area in Lagos has led to the increase in the attacks on vessels berthed at port terminals in Apapa and its environs.
A member of the group; Mr Oscar Alu, recently said that development in the Atlas Cove has left the criminals with no alternative than to leverage on the already porous waterfront to continue attack on vessels just to sustain themselves
From available data, the attacks in Lagos were a child’s play compared to what takes place in the Niger Delta region.
Local and international authorities in piracy are united that the main threat to safe navigation is still found off the restive Niger Delta, specifically on the approaches to ports and oil terminals in the vicinity of Port Harcourt. According to the latest report, “95% of attacks that were recorded in Nigerian waters occurred near Bonny Island, within 60 nautical miles of the shore. Pirates operating in these waters are focused on the kidnap of seafarers for ransom.”
The above gives credence to the failure of the Federal Government to successfully rein-in the restive youths in the Niger Delta. There is a nexus between Niger Delta youths, militancy and piracy. Therefore the spike in attacks is also probably a confirmation of the failure of the amnesty programme of the government.
Apart from the above, the fact that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has been helpless in the scourge of sea piracy is a low for the organisation . All the alliances that it has so far had have failed. It has aligned with the Navy, Air Force, and prior to that, it had one with Global West.
Among all these partnerships, it was the one with Global West Vessels Specialists that had a semblance of success; while it lasted there was a significant reduction in the number of attacks and kidnappings.
We also do not have confidence in the proposed anti-piracy Bill which the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is spearheading.
But, we are still irrevocably committed to our belief that the most reasonable model appears to be Coast Guard, which is already a tested global model in the fight against piracy and all forms of vices associated with seafaring.
The question is: if the Coast Guard apparatus has been tested and adjudged adequate in other maritime domains, what do we have against it in Nigeria. It is even more curious that the same forces that were against the establishment of Coast Guard were those that also worked against the establishment of a Maritime Security Agency (MASECA).
By its enabling Act, it is the statutory responsibility of NIMASA to ensure a safe and secure water for ships, crew and cargo, the ad hoc arrangement with Navy or any institutions for that matter is just what it is – purely, ad hoc.
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