Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea: Political Instability and lack of International Attention
Gulf of Guinea is part of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and comprises of 17 western African states namely Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Angola. The region is gifted with abundant natural resources such as hydrocarbons, fisheries and minerals like diamond, tin, and cobalt but faces the menace of piracy. The attempt here is to understand what piracy is, the danger it represents to western African states and how they attempt to address the issue.
Piracy:
The definition of piracy is given in article 101 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the determinants of piracy are:
(a) any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft and directed:
(i) on the high seas, against another ship or aircraft or against persons or property on board such as ship or aircraft.
(ii) against a ship, aircraft, persons, or property in a place outside the jurisdiction of any State.
(b) any act of voluntary participation in the operation of a ship or of an aircraft with knowledge of facts making it a pirate ship or aircraft.
(c) any act of inciting or of intentionally facilitating an act described in subparagraph (a) or (b).
Under international law maritime piracy is considered a punishable offence but the attack should take place on the high seas for it to meet the UNCLOS criteria. This implies that any act which happens within the territorial waters of a state will not be considered piracy under international law and the coastal state’s jurisdiction would reign supreme.
Threat of Piracy:
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported 135 instances of kidnappings in 2020 out of which a whopping 130 took place in the Gulf of Guinea. The IMB Director Michael Howlett said “we see that the pirates are acting with greater impunity, they are spending more periods of time on board vessels. In one case, they were on board for more than 24 hours, totally unchallenged”. Not only has the region become the global hotspot for piracy but the pirates are also sticking around on vessels for longer periods.
Piracy is no longer the same in the region as it once was for example since 2014 oil price crash, pirates have started kidnapping seafarers and hold them for ransom instead of stealing oil cargo since the potential profits are not the same as they once were. The ability of pirates to operate further away from the shore has increased for instance “in 2020, eight pirates armed with machine guns boarded a tanker around 196 nautical miles southwest of Bayelsa, Nigeria. They held all 19 crew members hostage, stole ship’s documents and value items, and escaped with 13 seafarers. One month later they were released”.
Piracy in the region is not only dangerous from the safety point of view but it also raises the cost of operating in the area as non-profit firm Oceans Beyond Piracy’s 2017 state of maritime piracy report puts the cost at $818.1 million. “Insurance premiums for ships transiting the Gulf was 18.5 million in 2017 alone and 35 percent of ships transiting the area also carried additional kidnap and ransom insurance totalling $20.7 million”. The actual figures could be much higher due to the nature of the crime and as shipowners are unwilling to disclose ransom amount and security costs.
Reasons for Piracy:
Piracy has become a lucrative business as one can earn much more through it. For instance, Nigeria has vast amounts of hydrocarbon, but the utilization of those resources has resulted in poverty rather than wealth for the masses. In addition, it has exacerbated social tensions and enhanced environment pollution leading those who did not gain from discovery of hydrocarbons to take up piracy. Increased attacks along the Nigerian coast stems from weak law enforcement capacity, corrupt officials, and an informal oil market. The militant organizations which engage in piracy in Nigeria justifies it based on economic justice as the region has remained underdeveloped and polluted despite being one of the richest on the continent.
Unemployment in Gulf of Guinea and Niger delta is also one of the reasons for enhanced attacks and hijacking of ships. The lack of jobs in the region makes piracy a better alternative leading those without it to hijack ships for ransom, steal cargo etc. Moreover, working in the fishing and farming sector is not as rewarding in comparison with piracy which makes it easier for criminal gangs such as Niger Delta Avengers, Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate to hire recruits.
There has been an increase in kidnapping on the sea as pirates have realised that companies would pay more and since the oil price are not as high as they once were, it is profitable to hold hostages than stealing oil cargos. Kidnapping of crew members and holding them as hostage for ransom has increased in the last 3 years. For instance, 108 crew members were taken hostage in 2018, increased to 142 in 2019 and about 154 in 2020.
Another reason for increased piracy at sea is that the law enforcement in the region is weak implying that they find it difficult to operate further away from shore which makes it easier for pirates to go about their business.
Addressing Piracy:
To address the issue of piracy in Gulf of Guinea the shipping industry launched the Gulf of Guinea Declaration on the Suppression of Piracy, more than 320 organisations have assented to the document including but not limited to flag states, ship owners and shipping associations. The idea is to help protect the seafarers who traverse through the region and through collaboration it aims to reduce attacks by about 80 percent by the end of 2023.
“The international maritime organisation and the maritime safety committee passed a resolution on 19 May 2021 calling on member states, national authorities, United Nations, and other relevant organisations to consider strengthening law enforcement to arrest and prosecute pirates in relevant jurisdictions, in accordance with international law and national legal frameworks”. “It also called for improved governance of available protection solutions such as security escort vessels”. There is a need for greater collaboration, information sharing, utilizing maritime domain awareness for trade for the Gulf of Guinea as well as patrolling of the sea.
On 10th June 2021, Nigeria launched the deep blue project, an integrated maritime security strategy in West and Central Africa built to tackle piracy and armed robbery. It will set up a central command and control centre in the port city of Lagos, deploy 16 armoured vehicles for patrolling the coast. Two special mission vessels, 17 fast interceptor boats, two special mission aircrafts for surveillance of the exclusive economic zone. Three special mission helicopters for search and rescue and four airborne drones.
The country has spent $195 million on the equipment and passed suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offenses act which enable prosecution and punishment for those who engage in piracy and armed robbery. The efforts taken by the Nigerian government reflects that it takes the issue seriously and is committed to end piracy.
Conclusion:
Piracy is a problem in the Gulf of Guinea, and it has evolved over the years from oil cargos being stolen to hijacking of ships and hostages being held for ransom. In addition to that, pirates are operating farther and farther away from the shore. It threatens not only West African states but the continent as well as 1/4th of the continent’s trade traverses through it. It is a persistent issue which needs to be tackled not only by enhancing maritime capacities of the states but also by addressing root causes.
As far as addressing piracy is concerned, the international maritime organisation has passed resolutions, the Nigerian government is spending on building up its maritime capacity. However, until the time issues such as lack of jobs, unemployment are not properly addressed, piracy will persist. Improving maritime capacity can help in reducing incidents in the short-term but I believe they are insufficient to eradicating piracy. Enhancing job prospects, scaling down unemployment levels would help in the long-term. The Nigerian government’s efforts are in the right direction but more needs to be done.
End Notes
1) https://www.csis.org/analysis/transatlantic-approach-address-growing-maritime-insecurity-gulf-guinea
2)https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Security/Pages/PiracyArmedRobberydefault.aspx
3) https://dg.dryadglobal.com/what-is-maritime-piracy
4) https://www.dw.com/en/why-is-piracy-increasing-on-the-gulf-of-guinea/a-56637925
5) https://www.gtreview.com/news/africa/piracy-in-gulf-of-guinea-poses-serious-trade-threat/
6) https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2019/12/27/maritime-piracy-increases-business-costs-in-the-gulf-of-guinea
7) https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/piracy-again-back-infest-west-african-waters-what-driving-52339/
8)https://safety4sea.com/new-report-sheds-light-on-maritime-piracy-in-gulf-of-guinea/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=pmd_BCFh2TKnLt8n1IsirV_tN6koF02frUdnQPx3Kbw1uwQ-1629263573-0-gqNtZGzNAiWjcnBszQel
9) https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/shipping-industry-unites-in-effort-to-stop-gulf-of-guinea-piracy
10)https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/pages/GulfOfGuineaMay2021.aspx
11) https://www.ics-shipping.org/press-release/shipping-industry-welcomes-nigerias-creation-of-deep-blue-to-stamp-out-piracy-in-the-gulf-of-guinea/
12) https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/nigeria-launches-deep-blue-campaign-to-stop-regional-piracy
?Pic Courtesy-IDSA GIS Lab
(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)
