Who will help solve Africa's piracy problem in the Gulf of Guinea?
Maritime piracy has increased off the west coast of Africa, in the Gulf of Guinea, despite preventative measures. The issues lie on land rather than at sea. Is it time for the international community to intervene?
Nine out of 10 maritime incidents of piracy and kidnappings for ransom are reported in West Africa's Gulf of Guinea, which stretches 5,700 kilometres (3,500 miles) from Senegal to Angola.
As the number of crew members kidnapped by pirates worldwide decreased, the number reported in the Gulf of Guinea increased from 78 in 2018 to 121 in 2019.
From January to September last year, 82% of maritime kidnappings in the world occurred in the Gulf of Guinea, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).
The vast expanse has eclipsed the notorious waters off Somalia in the Horn of Africa to become the world's epicentre for pirate attacks, lootings and kidnappings.
Fewer attacks, more kidnappings
"Seafarers go through great dangers so that consumers can buy coffee and cocoa in supermarkets or refuel their cars," Cyrus Mody, IMB's deputy director, told DW.
"The numbers in the Gulf have not increased," Mody said. " Media has only very recently started picking up on it. Ten years back we had the whole Somali piracy issue and media picked up on that relatively quickly. In the Gulf of Guinea the total number of incidences which actually occurred are underreported by around 50%-60%, piracy has been going on for years."
Pirates mainly target ships with international crews, according to a report on piracy in the Gulf of Guinea by the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD). In December, pirates boarded two ships within a few days, each 100 nautical miles off the coasts of Nigeria and Benin. They kidnapped 19 and 20 crew members respectively.
"Since 2018 there have been a quarter fewer attacks on ships, but more hijackings," said Wolf Kinzel, frigate captain and expert on maritime security in the region at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). "The approach of the pirates has changed: instead of three seamen, they take the whole crew with them. Hostages for money."
Read more: West Africa's tough battle with piracy
Playground for criminals
But why are neighboring countries not getting a grip on the situation? The problem is that they lack the knowledge, training and resources to deal with the situation, said IMB deputy director Mody. "When an incident takes place within the territorial waters of a state, it is called armed robbery. When that same incident takes place outside the territorial waters of a state, it is called piracy, and any navy or any response agency can respond to that incident. The responsibility to deal with a situation within the territorial state lies with the state only," said Mody. According to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the 12-mile zone (one nautical mile is about 1.85 kilometres) is part of the national territory.
Cooperation between states would be made more difficult by bureaucracy. Security forces are not allowed to travel from one territory to another to pursue pirates without informing the neighboring country beforehand. "Until the bureaucracy is sorted out, the pirates are gone," said Mody. "Due to a lack of law enforcement, the waters become a playground for criminals."
Piracy originates on land
The fundamental problem of piracy does not lie at sea, according to SWP specialist Kinzel. "In recent years, the main area of piracy has been the coast of Nigeria, a region where there is no statehood on land." The heavy environmental pollution caused by oil production makes it almost impossible to live as fishermen and cattle herders. In addition, there are smuggling, ethnic and religious conflicts and terrorism and youth unemployment.
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