Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea

Depending on which activities are considered "piracy," the frequency of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea varies. Attacks on merchant vessels loaded with cargo are relatively insignificant. Attacks are mainly directed at smaller ships shuttling employees and materials belonging to the oil companies with any involvement in oil exploration in Nigeria. From January 1, 2007 to October 15, 2007, twenty-six pirate attacks were recorded.^[1] Piracy is especially common in the Niger Delta region in the southeast of the country, the center of oil exploration. Kidnapping and minor attacks in the region have been on the rise as a result of increasing unrest between residents, the government and the oil exploring companies. Other factors include scarce law enforcement and numerous waterways.^[2]

1 Locations of attacks
2 Attacks per year
3 Chronology of selected attacks
4 References
5 External links

Locations of attacks

Among the locations in Nigeria that have been subject to attacks by pirates are:

Attacks per year

2003 - 39^[4]
First half of 2004
2007 - 56^[4] - 13^[5]
2008 - 40^[6]

Chronology of selected attacks

Jan. 4, 2009: Pirates hijacked the French ship Bourbon Leda with five Nigerians, two Ghanaians, one Cameroonian and one Indonesian on board. It was freed Jan. 7.^[7]
Jan. 21: Gunmen attack the diesel tanker MT Meredith and kidnap a Romanian, who is released a day later.^[8]
Jan. 23: Rebels steal some items from the Exxon tanker MV Ngoni. They also seized a tugboat.^[6]
April 21: Rebels attacked the Turkish ship Ilena Mercan and kidnapped two crewmen.^[9]
November 24: Pirates hijacked the Liberian-flagged Cancale Star off Benin and killed a Ukrainian officer before robbing the ship.^[10]
December 1: The Ghanaian Navy intercepted the hijacked oil tanker African Prince a week after it had been taken. The pirates escaped; they had killed the ship's chef.^[11]
March 13, 2010: A Chinese fishing vessel was hijacked off the Bakassi Peninsula, Cameroon. Seven fishermen were abducted. The kidnappers demanded a ransom and later released the vessel and its passengers on March 18.^[12]
September 23: Three Frenchmen were kidnapped from a vessel belonging to the company Bourbon off the Nigerian coast.^[13]
August 3, 2011: Two Panamanian-flagged tankers were attacked off Benin's coast but the ships were not taken.^[14] In the previous week, an Italian diesel tanker and a Swedish tanker were also attacked off Benin.^[14]^[15]

References

^ Maliti, Tom (2007-10-16). "Piracy Off Somalia's Coast Increases". Associated Press, via AP.Google.com. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j8fTJYY72y2dgcyR2QGlMueG7tQwD8SAH3500. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
^ Ikelegbe, Augustine (2005). "The Economy of Conflict in the Oil Rich Niger Delta Region of Nigeria" (– ^{Scholar search}). Nordic Journal of African Studies 14 (2): 208–234. http://www.sweetcrudemovie.com/NJAS2005.pdf. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
^ ^a ^b "Weekly Piracy Report 9-15 October 2007". Summary of Piracy Reporting Centre report. International Maritime Bureau. Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. http://web.archive.org/web/20071011013534/http://www.icc-ccs.org/prc/piracyreport.php. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
^ ^a ^b "Sea piracy hits record high". CNN.com (Time Warner). 2004-01-28. http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/01/27/pirates/index.html. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
^ "Piracy report says Nigerian waters the most deadly". IRIN (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs). 2004-04-24. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=50843. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
^ ^a ^b http://lite.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LN199150.htm
^ http://www.lloydslist.com/ll/news/gunmen-free-bourbon-leda/20017605020.htm
^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iRAh8PCexNo8vcWP-zmnHQ24RisQ
^ http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LL91941.htm
^ Pirates kill seaman in W.Africa tanker attack
^ Nigeria: Ghana Returns Oil Tanker After Pirate Attack
^ FACTBOX - Attacks in the Gulf of Guinea
^ Three French crewmen kidnapped in Nigeria attack
^ ^a ^b Pirates attack two oil tankers off W. Africa
^ Swedish tanker attacked by pirates near Benin

External links

West Africa's Gulf of Guinea Robber Pirates - Flags of Convenience
FACTBOX - Attacks in the Gulf of Guinea
Pirates take new territory: West African Gulf of Guinea

Piracy

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