Significant decline in piracy in West Africa

.... but the Gulf of Guinea remains a global hotspot

Piracy off the coast of West Africa has fallen dramatically since 2021 - by almost half. But the region remains the world's piracy hotspot, according to Dryad Global. In its 2021/22 annual report, the maritime risk company notes that "the drastic decline in piracy across West Africa in 2021 resulted in a total decrease in piracy and maritime crime incidents of 56 % compared to 2020. The number of actual and attempted attacks and ship strikes decreased by more than 85 %. The number of ships boarded decreased by 54 % across the region. Incidents of vessels boarded and crews abducted decreased by 60 %."

Overall, offshore piracy incidents in West Africa may have declined in 2021, but the core onshore factors that drive piracy and threaten vessels and crews operating in the region remain unchanged, Dryad said. In explaining the decline in West African piracy in 2021, Dryad points out that Nigeria's $195 million Deep Blue Project (DBP) has been touted as one of the main reasons. However, Dryad does not see the launch of the DBP as the cause of the decline, but only in temporal correlation with the decline. One example of this was the Russian Navy's destroyer "Vizeadmiral Kulakov", which responded to the boarding of the MSC Lucia in October 2021 and foiled a hijacking.

According to Dryad, piracy throughout the Gulf of Guinea continues to be attributed to pirate groups operating from the southern Niger Delta. Over the past year, there has been little improvement in the basic socio-economic conditions in the various communities of the Delta states that are fuelling piracy. The situation in the region has further deteriorated due to the impact of the COVID pandemic on national resources and international aid.

Next to piracy, maritime crime, which is primarily theft at anchor or in port, is the biggest threat to seafarers, accounting for 76 % of all incidents. Incidents resulting from the spillover of regional or state conflicts account for only 4.5 % of all incidents - however, the infrequent occurrence of these incidents is hardly a deterrent to the extensive global media coverage. The downward trend in West African piracy has continued this year: The International Maritime Bureau recorded only seven piracy incidents in the Gulf of Guinea in the first quarter of 2022.

On the decline in piracy off West Africa, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea, the IMB notes that no hijackings of crews have been reported in the first few quarters thanks to the efforts of maritime authorities in the region. But the threat to innocent seafarers remains and is best illustrated by the recent attack in which a Panamax-class bulk carrier was boarded by pirates 260 nautical miles off Ghana on 3 April.

After the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre was quickly alerted, the regional shipping authorities and the naval forces stationed in the area responded. An Italian Navy warship with a helicopter on board rescued the crew and ensured that the freighter was escorted to a safe harbour.

Source: defenceWeb - Dryad