Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company, has called for military intervention in the piracy problem in the Gulf of Guinea, which has made the gulf the new global headquarters for piracy.
This was disclosed by Maersk Chief of Marine Standards, Aslak Ross, in a Bloomberg report on Saturday evening.
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He said,
- “It is unacceptable in this day and age that seafarers cannot perform their jobs of ensuring a vital supply chain for this region without having to worry about the risk of piracy. The risk has reached a level where effective military capacity needs to be deployed.”
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On December 20, Maersk was attacked off the West African coast. Bloomberg reported that the Maersk Cadiz was boarded by ‘criminals’ on Saturday at about 2:30 pm Nigerian time, while traveling from Tema in Ghana to Kribi in Cameroon.
Nigerian naval ships arrived to help the vessel, which can transport the equivalent of 4,500 twenty-foot containers. Nigerian Navy Rear Admiral, Oladele Daji, said Nigeria is taking steps to combat the growing piracy problem by “ensuring that this menace of piracy is gotten rid of in our waters, so that those with legitimate business in shipping, fishing, and oil and gas, can go about their business without fear.”
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What you should know
- Nairametrics earlier reported that West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea recorded an unprecedented increase in piracy attacks in 2020, according to the International Maritime Bureau in its 2020 Annual Piracy report published on Wednesday.
- The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said its Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) received 195 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships worldwide, in comparison to 162 in 2019. The incidents included three hijacked vessels, 11 vessels fired upon, 20 attempted attacks, and 161 vessels boarded.
- 135 crew members were kidnapped from their vessels in 2020, with the Gulf of Guinea accounting for over 95% kidnapped.
Nigeria need a coast guard formation to help in boosting the security situation in the coastal region
It is time to create a new body like other countries to stand in the gap
It is just very funny the way things work in this region of Africa their is no longer and viable plan that is why piracy is seen around GOG STATE time has come let the Nigeria government especially established a coast guard formation that will also work hand in hand with the Navy to combat maritime crime until such is done then we can have a Free save navigation in the region
Thanks.