Specials - ITJ | Transport Journal

16 Shipping & Ports International Transport Journal 35-36 2013IMB warns of growing danger in West Africa«A worrying trend»The presence of the EU’s mission Atalanta and the use of private security guards on board ships sailing along the east coast of Africaare proving to be effective measures against piracy. The number of attacks in the Gulf of Guinea, on the other hand, is rapidly growing.One problem in combatting piracy is that only a few of the incidents in this region are reported.At the end of last year it seemed as if theoverall situation for international shippinghad become less tense. The lull inpiracy around the Horn of Africa wasjust a short breather, however. In recentmonths the zone around the Gulf ofGuinea has increasingly become a keyfocus of activity.The International Maritime Bureau(IMB) registered a total of 31 attacks inand around the Gulf of Guinea in thefirst six months of this year. Additionally,the area in which pirates operate isexpanding. «We have noticed a worryingtrend, namely that crew members arenow also being kidnapped far beyond theterritorial waters of coastal states in theGulf of Guinea,» IMB director PottengalMukundan says.More ships in their sightIn this region pirates generally use smallerships for their attacks, units which weredesigned as support vessels for offshoreships. The attackers take control of thesesmall vessels and use them to attack tankers,as well as other cargo ships, such ascontainerships or bulk freighters. A totalof 56 sailors have been taken hostage sofar this year. «However, it continues tobe the case that only a small fraction ofthe attacks in this region are reported,»Mukundan continued. «The authoritiesare thus not in a position to react appropriately,and other ships in the region aresimultaneously not aware of the actual extentof the danger.» The majority of theraids in West Africa, 22 of the 31 attacksin the region, took place off the coast ofoil-rich Nigeria.Code of conduct for the regionThe affected countries in West Africaurgently want to bring the situation offtheir coasts under control. In June 201322 West and Central African states issued