Vol- 8 issue-08

16 th - 30 th April 2018 TMWS 7
Nautical News
www.tmwsmagazine.com
Pirate attacks worsen in Gulf of
Guinea
A surge in armed attacks against ships around West Africa
is pushing up global levels of piracy and armed robbery at
sea, warns the International Chamber of Commerce’s International
Maritime Bureau (IMB).
IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre recorded 66 incidents in the
first quarter of 2018, up from 43 for the same period in 2017,
and 37 in Q1 2016.
Worldwide in the first three months of 2018, 100 crew were
taken hostage and 14 kidnapped from their vessels. A total
of 39 vessels were boarded, 11 fired upon and four vessels
hijacked. IMB received a further 12 reports of attempted attacks.
The Gulf of Guinea accounts for 29 incidents in 2018 Q1,
more than forty percent of the global total. Of the 114 seafarers
captured worldwide, all but one were in this region.
All four vessels hijackings were in the Gulf of Guinea, where
no hijackings were reported in 2017. Two product tankers
were hijacked from Cotonou anchorage in mid-January and
early February, prompting the IMB PRC to issue a warning to
ships. Towards the end of March, two fishing vessels were
hijacked 30nm off Nigeria and 27nm off Ghana.
“The hijacking of product tankers from anchorages in the
Gulf of Guinea is a cause of concern. 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,” commented an IMB
spokesperson.
Nigeria piracy hotspot
Nigeria alone recorded 22 incidents. Of the 11 vessels
fired upon worldwide, eight were off Nigeria – including a
300,000 MT deadweight VLCC tanker more than 40nm off
Brass. “Attacks in the Gulf of Guinea are against all vessels.
Crews have been taken hostage and kidnapped from fishing
and refrigerated cargo vessels as well as product tankers.
In some cases, the attacks have been avoided by the early
detection of an approaching skiff, evasive action taken by
the vessel and the effective use of citadels.
The IMB is working with national and regional authorities in
the Gulf of Guinea to support ships and coordinate counter
piracy actions. The authorities from Benin, Nigeria and Togo
have sent out boats in response to several incidents,” said
an IMB spokesperson.
Somali risk remains
One incident was reported off Somalia, where a product
tanker was fired upon and chased by two skiffs around
160nm SE of Hobyo. At the end of March, a 160,000 DWT
tanker reported being fired upon in the Gulf of Aden, while
transiting within the Maritime Security Transit Corridor. The
distance from land, sighting of ladders and firing upon ships
continues to illustrate that the Somali pirates retain the capability
and intent to attack merchant shipping in the wider
Indian Ocean.
Indonesia
Indonesia recorded nine low level attacks against anchored
vessels. Five bulk carriers reported actual or attempted attacks
at Muara Berau anchorage in Samarinda, while waiting
to load coal cargoes.
IMB Piracy Reporting Centre
Since 1991 the IMB PRC’s 24-hour manned centre has provided
the maritime industry, governments and response
agencies with timely and transparent data on piracy and
armed robbery incidents – received directly from the Master
of the vessel or its owners. The IMB PRC’s prompt forwarding
of reports and liaison with response agencies, its
broadcasts to shipping via Inmarsat Safety Net Services
and email alerts to CSOs, all provided free of cost, has
helped the response against piracy and armed robbery and
the security of seafarers, globally. IMB strongly urges all
shipmasters and owners to report all actual, attempted and
suspected piracy and armed robbery incidents to the IMB
PRC. This first step in the response chain is vital to ensuring
that adequate resources are allocated by authorities to
tackle piracy. Transparent statistics from an independent,
non-political, international organization can act as a catalyst
to achieve this goal.
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