Oceans Beyond Piracy Archives - Jean-Jacques Cornish

Pirate attacks have doubled in number off the Horn of Africa

Jean-Jacques Cornish — Sun, 27 May 2018 22:00:00 +0000

International organisations monitoring maritime crimes show an increase in piracy on both sides of the African continent.

The most dramatic is off the Horn of Africa where the number of attacks on merchant shipping have doubled in a year.

Piracy has plagued merchant shipping off the Horn of Africa to the east and the Gulf of Guinea in the West.

The worst period was between 2007 and 2012 when powerful navies stepped in to protest their commercial vessels.

With combinations like the British and Russian navies patrolling shoulder to shoulder, piracy subsided.

But according to last figures it’s once again on the rise.

According to Oceans Beyond Piracy there were 54 attacks off the Horn of Africa in its latest reporting period.

This is twice the number reported in the previous year.

Jean-Jacques Cornish — Wed, 03 May 2017 22:00:00 +0000

An international maritime report says piracy is making the Gulf Guinea on Africa’s west coast one of the most hazardous sea routes on earth.

This followed renewed activity by buccaneers in the Gulf of Aden on the east coast of the continent.

Ransoms of up to $400,000 have been paid to gangs which hijacked ships in the Gulf of Guinea says the US-based Oceans Beyond Piracy Group.

It adds that the region is the most dangerous in the world for seafarers, with pirates becoming more violent.

The group reports a total of 32 seafarers kidnapped so far this year compared with 15 in 2015.

It says kidnapping for ransom takes place mainly in the oil-producing areas off Nigeria’s coast.

The spike in kidnappings appears to be linked to political developments in Nigeria.