The Gulf of Guinea and West Africa: a new focal point?

[davidbfpo]

Picked up the other day, an IISS Strategic Comment mainly on piracy off Somalia, but has passages on the situation off the West African coast:

Meanwhile, piracy off the West African coast is emerging as a separate threat. Here the modus operandi is quite different. Eight tankers were hijacked – and another 30 attacks thwarted – in the eight months to September 2011.

Link:http://www.iiss.org/publications/str...den-their-net/

[tequila]

Violence against shippers new norm off West Africa

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) – The waters off West Africa's coast are now a constant danger for those shipping goods and crude oil in the region, analysts said Tuesday, a day after pirates killed two sailors near Nigeria's coast.

While shootings and stabbings have happened before in the region, Monday's assault was one of the deadliest attacks in waters now considered to be as dangerous as those near Somalia. And such attacks are likely to continue ...

In August, London-based Lloyd's Market Association — an umbrella group of insurers — listed Nigeria, neighboring Benin and nearby waters in the same risk category as Somalia, where two decades of war and anarchy have allowed piracy to flourish.

Pirates in West Africa have been more willing to use violence in their robberies, as they target the cargo, not the crew for kidnapping like off Somalia. Analysts say many of the pirates come from Nigeria, where corrupt law enforcement allows criminality to thrive ...

[Stan]

Anything piracy and more

13.02.2012: 0250 UTC: Posn: 04:43N - 003:44E, Around 110nm south of Lagos, Nigeria.
Armed pirates chased and fired upon a drifting bulk carrier. Vessel raised alarm and headed towards Lagos. All crew except the bridge team took shelter in the citadel. Due to the continuous firing the Captain and the C/E were shot. The IMB Piracy Reporting Center immediately informed the Nigerian authorities who sent out a rescue team. Due to rough seas the Nigerian naval team could not reach the location. A French Warship in the area which received the warning broadcast went to the aid of the distress vessel and despatched a helicopter. A boarding team boarded the vessel and escorted the vessel to Lagos port. The vessel is presently at Inner anchorage Lagos port. The authorities boarded the vessel and a medical team gave medical assistance to the crew. Later all crew members and the two bodies were taken ashore.

Seems there's more to Nigeria than just pirates.

[davidbfpo]

From NATO CIMIC's offering:

Lloyd’s List reports that on 23 March, the Liberia-flagged chemical and oil tanker Zouzou was hijacked in the Gulf of Guinea by approximately 12 armed pirates. The pirates used a mothership and skiffs for the attack, which is a new tactic that is usually used by Somali pirates. The attackers have since left the vessel, after stealing some items from the ship, leaving the tanker’s crew unharmed.

This Day, a Nigerian news source, reports that, within the past two
months, 22 armed attacks were carried out on ships in the Bight of Benin.
Last year the region reported 58 pirate attacks...

According to IMBs Piracy reporting Centre (PRC) a chemical tanker was attacked by armed pirates on 22 March about 100 nm off Bonny Island, Nigeria. The master triggered the Ship Security Alert System (SSAS) and the crew retreated to the citadel. A nearby US warship responded to the alert. The pirates aborted the attack and the tanker’s crew is safe.

Link:https://www.cimicweb.org/Pages/v6/welcome.html and look for the Mediterranean Basin Review (OK stretching geography a wee bit to the Gulf of Guinea).

Slightly puzzled that a US warship was in the vicinity, just like a French warship in Stan's post. The wonders of navigation in such waters.

[davidbfpo]

This article by Kofi Annan appeared in the Uk-based 'Observer' newspaper in January 2012, but a SWC reader suggested I have a look:http://kofiannanfoundation.org/newsr...rugswestafrica

The only new item spotted was this, my emphasis:

According to a recent report from the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime, in 2009 around a third of the South American cocaine destined for Europe and shipped via West Africa was consumed locally.

A UN estimate true, one wonders if there is anything locally known and verified that would support this? KingJaJa we need you!

[KingJaja]

There is a lot of money and a lot of cocaine use in Lagos where I live. Many combatants in Africa's nasty little wars and militants are high on drugs. Indian hemp is the drug of choice because it grows locally, but cocaine is also used.

A few things about Lagos - there is a Porsche dealership here and every kind of luxury car on earth can be seen on its streets. The economy of Lagos alone is similar in size to the economy of Kenya! Nigeria's economy is on track to exceed the South African economy either this year or next year.

So while there are lot of poor people in Nigeria, there are a respectable number of people who can support a cocaine habit. Finally, I doubt street prices in West Africa are anywhere near the price in Europe.

From the Lagos State ministry of health website

4. Various types of drug use are prevalent among the population. The use of illicit drugs cuts across all social strata but is more common amongst motor park workers, drivers, artisans, prostitutes, etc. Use of heroin and cocaine is more prevalent in Lagos and other metropolitan cities and common among street beggars. The use of Amphetamine-type substances is also increasing, especially in big cities such as Lagos.

http://www.lagosstateministryofhealt...rogramme_id=32

[davidbfpo]

Just an update:

A French-owned Luxembourg-flagged tanker with 17 crew members that went missing off Ivory Coast at the weekend is believed to have been hijacked by Nigerian pirates, the International Maritime Bureau said on Monday.

Note the hub is Nigeria and the commodity sought oil products.

Link:http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...9130A020130204