The first quarter of 2021 witnessed an unprecedented surge in armed robbery and kidnapping attacks by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG), an important shipping route along West Africa’s southern coast. The threat of piracy in the GoG constitutes a significant security risk for commercial goods and human life involved in global maritime shipping. It has accordingly prompted coastal states in the region to ramp up counter-piracy efforts.

In the late hours of 8 April, Ghanian Navy personnel engaged in a training exercise, delivered by the crew of Italian warship Luigi Rizzo, in advanced patrolling and surveillance methods on the seas of the GoG. The drill marked the outset of Ghana’s collaboration with the Italian Navy, as part of a broader mission to bolster its capabilities in combating piracy and quell the growing maritime security threat. 

Similarly, the Nigerian Navy awaits the imminent delivery of a new hydrographic survey ship, the Lana. This addition will be the latest in Nigeria’s burgeoning effort to reinforce its fleet and ultimately curb the spate of pirate activities menacing the waters of the GoG.

Threat Environment 

The GoG has become a piracy hotspot, with armed robbery and hijackings occurring with increasing frequency. International Maritime Bureau (IMB) figures reported a 40% increase in the number of attacks in the region in 2020, accounting for over 95% of crew numbers kidnapped from global shipping vessels. This trend has only accelerated in 2021, which indicates the risk to stakeholders in commercial shipping in the GoG remains significant.  

The surge in pirate activity coincides with a depletion in oil rents that have long lined the pockets of insurgent groups in Nigeria’s petroleum-rich Niger Delta. Conceivably, plummeting oil prices since 2020 and continued economic instability in the region have driven these groups to piracy, seeking other income sources such as stolen cargo and ransom payments.

The pirates’ anticipated promise of ransom accordingly poses a danger not simply to material goods but also to human safety. The IMB reports that over 80% of attackers in the GoG have been armed with guns, with a January attack causing one innocent seafarer’s death. However, abductees are generally released unharmed upon payment of ransom. This suggests that a diligent effort by commercial shipping management to coordinate with local authorities, locate victims, and fulfil kidnappers’ demands is likely to secure the release of crewmembers in the case of an incident.

Furthermore, the challenge of piracy in the GoG may become greater yet, as attackers exhibit mounting sophistication. Attacks have been carried out by well-organized pirate gangs against vessels of all types and sizes, abducting progressively larger groups of seafarers. For instance, an 11 March attack on the Dutch vessel Davide B marked the furthest recorded kidnapping incident from shore to date, at over 200 nautical miles (NM) off the West African coastline. This a) implies that pirates’ capabilities have likely increased in the GoG, and b) explains the recent scaling up of defensive efforts among coastal naval forces. Nonetheless, responses by regional and international authorities have, to date, proven inadequate to address this ongoing security challenge. Failure to counter the threat of violent piracy—and resultant successful robbery and kidnapping attempts—risk emboldening and equipping perpetrators to ramp up the scale and frequency of their activities even further.   

Implications 

In the short term, it is crucial for vessels traversing the waters of the GoG to exercise vigilance and remain on high alert. IMB-recommended best practices, such as remaining at least 250 NM from the coast at all possible times and retreating into the citadel of a vessel in the case of attack, have protected crew members from kidnapping in some instances. Such precautions are thus critical to mitigating the risk associated with piracy. 

More broadly, curbing the increasing threat of piracy in the GoG likely requires a concentrated effort that spans nations and industries, given regional navies and coast guards have struggled to do so independently. Increasing information exchange and coordination between vessels, reporting agencies, national and international authorities can serve a dual purpose, aiding to deter and thwart future attacks, and otherwise retrieve hostage crew members quickly and with minimal harm. The collaboration between the Ghana Navy and the crew of the Luigi Rizzo sets a valuable precedent for such measures.