West Africa emerging as piracy ‘hot-spot’

Piracy is at an all-time high and a current spate of ship attacks off West Africa indicates the region could emerge as a new piracy “hotspot”, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has warned. Over 350 attacks have been reported so far in 2011. Last month, Nigeria and Benin launched joint sea patrols in a move to tackle a sudden surge in piracy in the region. According to The IMB Piracy Reporting Centre, approximately 20 incidents off the coast of Benin have been reported this year, compared with none in 2010. On Friday October 14, Nigerian officials confirmed the successful release of 20 Eastern European seafarers whose tanker was hijacked on October 8, approximately 90 nautical miles south of Lagos. In contrast to Somali pirates, those operating off the coast of West Africa don’t appear to be after ransom payments. They seem to steal fuel and oil from the vessels to sell on the black market. There have also been many reports of violence towards crew members by heavily armed West African pirates. Meanwhile, in a move to assist victims of piracy, a worldwide programme has been launched in the UK to help seafarers and families cope with the physical and mental trauma caused by torture and abuse at the hands of pirates. “There have been some notable cases recently, indicating that pirates have used extreme brutality and the threat of death against seafarers and their relatives,” said an IMB spokesperson. IMB director Pottengal Mukundan commented: “There can be no justification for the abuse of seafarers…Mistreatment of crew, even at the basic level of loss of personal space or freedom of movement, bullying and denial of acceptable levels of food and water, should not be tolerated. Sleeping communally on the bridge of the ship under the watchful eyes of armed pirates for six months is totally unacceptable. Seafarers do not go to sea to be placed in these conditions.”