GULF OF GUINEA AND PIRACY PROBLEMS
The authorities could do more to curb the menace of the criminals
In a new United Nations report, “Pirates of the Gulf of Guinea: A Cost Analysis for the Coastal States,” maritime problems on the Nigerian waters have continued despite the best efforts of the current administration. In 2020, according to the report, there were 106 incidents of piracy with 623 seafarers affected by kidnapping with an estimated cost of $1.9 billion. “After considering indirect financial damages and opportunity costs, it becomes clear that the Gulf of Guinea nations have the most to gain from reducing piracy and armed robbery in the region,” the report stated. “The frequency and violence of these attacks have preoccupied navies that could be addressing other maritime security threats, discouraged foreign investment, weakened state control of coastal and offshore areas, slowed the development of the blue economy, emboldened illicit traders and illegal fishers, and terrorised seafarer communities.”
When in August the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), an arm of the International Chamber of Commerce, released its latest report on the state of piracy in the world for the first half of that year, there were more incidents in Nigeria (31) than any other country. The increase of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, according to the report, had led to higher shipping costs since vessels were compelled to insure their crew as well, aside paying for higher security costs. Describing them as “unacceptable”, the Director of IMB, Pottengal Mukundan said reports indicate more violence against ships and crews in the Gulf of Guinea, particularly around Nigeria than anywhere in the world. That emblem of shame should command serious attention.
While there is unanimity among shipping practitioners that sea piracy cannot be totally eradicated, it is also a fact that with concerted efforts by all the relevant stakeholders, the menace can be minimised in our country. The negative impact on our economy goes beyond oil theft. Apart from reducing the number of vessels calling at the nation’s seaports due to the fear of attacks, it has helped in no small measure to increase the cost of doing business in Nigeria as ship owners and the consignees now charge higher than they do for other countries. The huge costs are eventually passed off in the cost of freight to the final consumer. The high number of lives lost to such crime aside, piracy drives fear into shipping practitioners, especially ship captains and master mariner.
That the cost of this menace to the country is very high is evident. In 2018, the United Nations (UN) Security Council disclosed that Nigeria was losing about $1.5 billion a month due to piracy, armed robbery at sea, smuggling and fuel supply fraud in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG). According to Ambassador Michele J. Sison, the then United States’ Deputy Representative to the UN, piracy in the region could be traced to ineffective governance structures, weak rule of law, precarious legal frameworks and inadequate naval, coast guard, and maritime law enforcement. “The absence of an effective maritime governance system, in particular, hampers freedom of movement in the region, disrupts trade and economic growth, and facilitates environmental crimes,” she said.
Most concerning about this development, according to Jake Longworth of the EOS Risk Group, is the resurgence of ‘petro-piracy’, involving the hijacking of oil tankers. “The return of petro-piracy has been accompanied by an associated increase in the geographical reach of Nigerian pirate gangs, leading to attacks in the waters of Benin and Ghana,” he said. We hope the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) will work with other agencies of government and the security apparatus to put necessary measures in place so that the Nigerian territorial waters will not continue to harbour criminals.
