Summary of Gulf of Guinea piracy events 2011-2015

Posted on July 24, 2015 by navalmatters

Summary of Gulf of Guinea piracy events to 7/22/2015.

2011
Hijacked: 19
Boarding: 41
Fired Upon/Attempted Boarding: 26
Kidnapping: 18
Total: 104

2012
Hijacked: 14
Boarding: 31
Fired Upon/Attempted Boarding: 30
Kidnapping: 14
Total: 89

2013
Hijacked: 11
Boarding: 26
Fired Upon/Attempted Boarding: 43
Kidnapping: 32
Total: 112

2014
Hijacked: 9
Boarding: 33
Fired Upon/Attempted Boarding: 31
Kidnapping: 26
Total: 99

2015 (to 7/22)
Hijacked: 2
Boarding: 24
Fired Upon/Attempted Boarding: 16
Kidnapping: 18
Total: 60

Source: Office of Naval Intelligence.

“Action of 7 February 1813” painting by Louis-Philippe Crépin held in collection at Versailles

Posted on February 7, 2014 by navalmatters

Combat de la frégate française ”l’Aréthuse” contre la frégate anglaise ”l’Amélia” sur la côte de Guinée, le 7 février 1813 painting by Louis-Philippe Crépin.

Action between the French frigate Aréthuse (40) and Royal Navy frigate HMS Amelia (38) off the shores of Guinea, West Africa, on 7 February 1813.

The painting is located in the collection at of Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon.

Combat de la frégate française ”l’Aréthuse” contre la frégate anglaise ”l’Amélia” sur la côte de Guinée, le 7 février 1813.

Piracy & Maritime Security Incidents to 8th January 2014

Posted on January 10, 2014 by navalmatters

It appears to be quiet off the coast of East Africa at the beginning of 2014, but not so much in Indonesia nor the West African littoral.

On 2 January, five pirates boarded a drifting gas carrier 55-nm west of Corsico in the Gulf of Guinea. The crew raised the alarm and the pirates fled. The master reported that there were several small craft without AIS in the vicinity.

On 3 January, pirates boarded the general cargo vessel San Miguel and kidnapped 3 crew members 20-miles NW of Bata, Equatorial Guinea.

On 3 January, armed robbers boarded an anchored chemical tanker in Belawan Anchorage, Indonesia while it was conducting loading operations. They took hostage the duty crewman then broke into the forecastle store room and stole ship’s property and escaped.

On 4-5 January, the Ukrainian captain and Greek engineer who were kidnapped by Nigerian pirates from the tanker Althea on 16 December 2013 were released.

On 6 January, robbers boarded an anchored chemical tanker in Belawan Outer Anchorage, Indonesia. The crew spotted the robbers and raised the alarm, whereupon the robbers fled in their small craft without stealing anything. The master alerted other ships in the vicinity via bridge-to-bridge radio.

On 7 January, armed robbers boarded a berthed container ship off Doula Port, Cameroon. The duty crewman noticed suspicious movements at the forecastle & informed the duty officer who raised the alarm. Seeing the crew response, the robbers escaped in a small craft.

On 7 January, robbers boarded an anchored chemical tanker in Gresik Inner Anchorage, Indonesia. They threatened the duty watch keeper & stole ship’s stores. The robbers fled when other crew members raised the alarm.

On 8 January, robbers boarded a berthed general cargo ship at Monrovia Port, Liberia. After hearing some noise, the duty watchman noticed a robber throwing ship’s properties overboard. Upon seeing the crew response, the robber jumped overboard and escaped. The master informed local authorities who sent a port security patrol to investigate. Port security personnel helped recover some of the stolen ship’s property that was adrift near the stern of the ship.

Source: United States Navy, Office of Naval Intelligence.

Ghana steps up fight against West African piracy

Posted on October 31, 2013 by navalmatters

Good. Glad its being taken seriously. Yet more could undoubtedly be done. Particularly support from allied nations. The Ghana Navy (GN) could probably have used one of those Type 22 frigates being sent to scrap by the British government or one of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates being decommissioned by the US government. The allied nations can provide their own ships for standing counter-piracy deployments along the West African littoral, as they currently do for the East African & Persian Gulf area of operations, but to truly mitigate the regional piracy threat presented in the Gulf of Guinea the allied nations must identify, support and strengthen the principaux interlocuteurs such as Ghana and Nigeria. This should be done with ship donations, maritime security training, logistical support and direct military assistance (standing deployments, but not as large, given that the regional forces will be strengthened). OK. Rant over.

Ghana to set up special naval units, maritime crime courts to counter piracy

The Ghanaian Navy says it is setting up special boat units to deal with maritime security challenges like piracy in order to secure the country’s new-found offshore oil and gas resources.

The establishment of the special units comes after Ghana announced plans to set up the first African special courts to deal with maritime crimes, as piracy takes root in the West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea. Ghana Navy Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral Geoffery Biekro said apart from protecting maritime boundaries, offshore oil rigs and pipeline infrastructure, the special boats units will also fight trans-national crimes such as smuggling, illegal fishing, weapons and drug trafficking.

Biekro said foreign partners will fund the training and equipment needs for the special naval units. He added that the Ghanaian Navy is already over-stretched in dealing with national security threats, threats to economic infrastructure and even more serious threats to the security of its newly-found offshore hydrocarbon wealth.

“We also have transnational crimes that are posing serious national security threats to the country. Apart from the economic losses, there are also human security losses, with a reduction in protein intake and impoverishing of fishing communities,” Biekro said.

He said the failure of the navy to exercise full control of the country’s maritime domain has directly led to the inability to exploit fishery resources, forcing the government to import fish annually.

Biekro said oil theft remains the major economic threat to Ghana’s maritime and national economic security due to the advent of criminal gangs which connive with local officials to steal crude oil from offshore installations as evidenced by an increase in the number of foreign tankers found stealing crude oil from offshore facilities in the country’s prestigious Salt Pond and Jubilee oil fields.

Among other national maritime security initiatives, the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) in August commissioned a Vessel Traffic Management and Information System (VTMIS) to improve safety and security in the country’s waters. The VTMIS is a state-of-the-art monitoring and surveillance electronic system designed to ensure effective management of maritime boundaries, the protection of maritime resources, offshore oil resources and pipeline infrastructure.

The system can track vessels 1,000 nautical miles from the country’s shores and is operated from four control centres, eight remote sensor sites along the coast and three remote base stations on Lake Volta.

Meanwhile, Ghanaian High Court Chief Justice Georgina Woods says the country will set up special courts to deal specifically with maritime crimes before the end of this year. “Off shore discovery and exploitation of Ghana’s oil and gas resources coupled with significant increase in international trade has brought to the fore the need for the establishment of maritime courts to adjudicate the many maritime cases that will come before the courts. I have therefore decided to set up maritime courts in Accra, Tema and Takoradi,” Woods said.

He said through collaborations with the Ghana Shippers Authority, three judges drawn from the High Court will be sponsored to undertake post-graduate studies with specialisation in maritime law in preparation for deployment to the three new special courts.

http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32332:ghana-to-set-up-special-naval-units-maritime-crime-courts-to-counter-piracy&catid=108:Maritime%20Security&Itemid=233#!

Pirates attack US-flagged ship in Gulf of Guinea, kidnap crew members

Posted on October 24, 2013 by navalmatters

The C-Retriever is a US-flagged offshore supply vessel owned & operated by Edison Chouest Offshore. Reports confirm that the vessel has been attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea and that the captain and the chief engineer have been kidnapped.

NIGERIA: During the early hours of 23 October, pirates attacked the U.S.-flagged offshore supply vessel C RETRIEVER near Brass and kidnapped the captain and chief engineer, both U.S. citizens.

Source: US Navy, Office of Naval Intelligence, Maritime OPINTEL Report.

C-Retriever (c. 2008)

Oh, foolish pirates! A US-flagged vessel? I think we all know how this ends.

“Africa” by Toto, Performed by the Crew of the Bourbon Peridot, West Africa 2013

Posted on October 18, 2013 by navalmatters

Nigerian Navy battles pirates in Gulf of Guinea

Posted on August 20, 2013 by navalmatters

The Nigerian Navy has killed 12 pirates in a 30-minute gun battle in the Gulf of Guinea. BZ to the Nigerians for what they do. But we can (and should!) do more to help them.

The Nigerian Navy currently boasts a 1970s German frigate, a 1960s US Coast Guard cutter rebadged as frigate, and four 1960s/70s Vosper Thronycroft corvettes. A couple of decommissioned Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates under the Foreign Assistance Act wouldn’t go amiss. Nor would paid off Type 22 frigates that were sold at a pittance for scrap. It is well-and-good for the US, UK, EU and allied partners to provide standing naval forces in the fight against piracy, but regional navies must be brought up to strength with adequate equipment and training in order to truly defeat the scourge.

Nigerian navy says kills 12 pirates in gun battle

(Reuters) – The Nigerian navy killed 12 pirates in a gun battle as they tried to flee from a fuel tanker they hijacked off the coast of the Gulf of Guinea last week, the navy said on Monday.

Pirates took control of the St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged MT Notre on August 15, but an emergency signal was sent to the navy and several gunships were deployed to recover the vessel, Navy Flag Officer Rear Admiral Sidi-Ali Hassan told reporters.

Navy gunships caught up with the vessel and forced it into Nigerian waters but while negotiating the ship’s release, the pirates tried to escape on a speed boat. The navy boats pursued but were fired upon by the hijackers.

“The gun battle lasted for about 30 minutes after which they were overpowered. On taking over the speed boat, four of the militants were alive and unhurt while the rest of the pirates were killed in the crossfire,” Sidi-Ali Hussan said.

The crew were all rescued unharmed from the MT Notre, which was carrying 17,000 metric tons of gasoline, he said.

Pirate attacks off West Africa’s mineral-rich coastline have almost doubled from last year and threaten to jeopardize the shipping of commodities from the region. They have already jacked up insurance costs.

It is rare for the navy to engage pirates in gun battles offshore, as vessels are usually released after being robbed of cargo and valuables. Sometimes crew are kidnapped for ransom.

(Reporting by Tife Owolabi; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/19/us-nigeria-piracy-idUSBRE97I0PY20130819