By John Ikani
Nigeria’s Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral AZ Gambo has announced the nation’s exit from International Maritime Bureau (IMB) piracy list.
The development according to him was not unconnected to Nigeria’s improvements in reducing piracy attacks on its Gulf of Guinea waters by 77%.
A statement by the Nigerian Government quoted the Naval Chief as saying: “It is heartwarming to note the significant decline in piracy attacks by 77% on Nigerian waters as reflected in the International Maritime Bureau Q3 2021 report… the latest IMB report shows that Nigeria has exited the IMB Piracy List.”
Gambo added that the Navy will continue to leverage on all factors of national location, technology, training, teamwork and synergy to re-energise the Nigerian Navy and enhance her as a well-motivated and ready naval force in the discharge of her constitutional mandate and other assigned tasks in fulfillment of national security.
What you should know
West Africa loses about 800,000 tons of fish a year, worth almost $2 billion in gross revenue, to illegal activities by both foreign and domestic vessels, Pierangelo said. This removes vast seafood protein from the region.
Nigerian waters are at the center of the Gulf of Guinea, a vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean stretching from Senegal to Angola that’s the most dangerous part of the world for sailors, accounting for almost all kidnappings at sea in recent years.
SAO Tome and Principe, Gabon , Benin and four other African countries led the sailors kidnap chart of the International Maritime Bureau, IMB, in 2021, an indication that Nigeria may have eliminated the menace of piracy in its waters.
In the latest IMB report, a total of 15 crewmen were kidnapped 98 Nautical Miles in Sao Tome Islands on the 23rd of January 2021 as against another 15 sailors Gabon on the eight of February and on the 11th of March, 10 crew members were kidnapped in Benin Republic.
Coming in third position is Equatorial Guinea with a total of six kidnapped crewmembers from a container vessel while a second attack on fishing vessel also took place in Benin on the 31st of May and six crewmen were also kidnapped in the process.
A breakdown of the figure shows that a total of three fishing vessels, two container vessels and a chemical tanker were also attacked.
Nigeria recorded no kidnapping incidents in 2021 with the total number of incidents in its waters dropping more than 80 per cent compared to 2020.
