Shipowners organisation Bimco has urged the EU, US and China to do more to combat the rising scourge of piracy off West Africa.
About 40 ships have been attacked in the Gulf of Guinea in the past 12 months.
“We look towards the EU, China and the United States to join forces and deploy naval capacity in the Gulf of Guinea to end this constant threat to seafarers,“ Jakob Larsen, Bimco head of maritime security said.
In the 2013 Yaounde Code of Conduct, states in the Gulf of Guinea recognised that piracy constituted an issue and initiated several initiatives to strengthen maritime security.
“Bimco remains very thankful to the regional navies who are working tirelessly and with great sacrifice to secure their seas,” Larsen added.
“While these efforts command our deepest respect, pirates in the Gulf of Guinea can still operate largely unchecked in the open seas, outside of the territorial waters, and on occasion even strike inside territorial waters."
