Piracy: Nigeria Leads In Gulf Of Guinea

Pirate attacks dropped to the lowest, since 2008, this year as the presence of naval forces helped deter Somalis from attacking merchant ships off the East African country’s coast, the London-based International Maritime Bureau said in a report recently.

While incidents off East Africa are declining, the opposite is happening in the Gulf of Guinea, especially in the western coastline, the IMB said.

Specifically, the maritime bureau said pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea have been on the rise. Nigeria recorded the highest of the attacks in the region.

There were 32 incidents in the Gulf of Guinea compared with 25 a year earlier. Nigerian attacks climbed to 17 from six, the maritime bureau said.

There were 177 incidents worldwide in the first six months compared with 266 in the same period of 2011, the maritime agency’s report said. Somali pirate attacks fell to 69 from 163, the largest contribution to the wider decline.

Shipping companies are turning to new technology as a way to fend-off pirates and cut costs. In 2010, piracy cost the international economy as much as $12 billion. During a November 1 event in Baltimore, Maryland, some of those new enhancements were showcased, including skunk-smelling water and propeller-tangling ropes.

Pre-emptive and disruptive counter-piracy attacks by international navies helped reduce the number of incidents off Somalia, according to the report.

The European Union force operating near East Africa conducted its first air strike to destroy Somali pirates’ equipment on land on May 15, a new tactic to protect the region’s merchant shipping.

“The naval actions play an essential role in frustrating the pirates,” IMB Director Pottengal Mukundan said in the report.