Nigerian pirates have kidnapped 35 seafarers from vessels in the Gulf of Guinea so far this year, security firm EOS Risk Group said.
Nigeria continues to be the world’s epicentre for piracy and there were 34 Nigerian attacks on merchant and fishing vessels in the Gulf of Guinea recorded from January through June 2018.
A total of 35 seafarers were kidnapped for ransom and several vessels were hijacked in these attacks, EOS said in a report.
Return of petro-piracy
“Most concerning this year has been the resurgence of petro-piracy, involving the hijacking of tankers for oil theft” said Jake Longworth, senior intelligence analyst at EOS.
“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,” Longworth said.
EOS recorded seven pirate attacks in the waters of Nigeria’s western neighbour in the first half of 2018. The attacks involved several successful tanker hijackings, one of which resulted in the loss of 2,000 metric tonnes of product, the EOS report said.
Nigerian pirates also operated in Ghanaian waters in April, kidnapping five seafarers from two vessels.
The main threat is still found off the Niger Delta, specifically on the approaches to ports and oil terminals in the vicinity of Port Harcourt, Longworth said.
“95% of attacks we recorded in Nigerian waters occurred near Bonny Island, within 60 nautical miles of the shore,” Longworth said.
It was in this area that heavily armed Nigerian pirates kidnapped 11 seafarers from the Dutch general cargo vessel FWN Rapide in April, the highest number of hostages taken by a Nigerian pirate group in a single attack.
Instability in the Niger Delta is likely to increase in the run up to Nigeria’s 2019 general elections, which could result in a spike in piracy, EOS warned.
“Since the turn of the century, this pattern has been visible in Nigeria ahead of major election periods, evidence of the complex links between piracy and political conflict in the Niger Delta.”
