Sea piracy has recently received renewed attention with the release in January 2008 of the International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) 2007 annual report, reports security consultants red24. Based on statistics compiled by the IMB’s piracy-reporting centre in Malaysia, the paper revealed a ten percent increase in reported incidents of piracy worldwide in 2007 (263 incidents) compared to 2006 (239 incidents).
The report also identified the Gulf of Guinea, located off the coast of West Africa and extending from the western coast of Cote d’Ivoire, past Nigeria, to the Gabon estuary, as one of the world’s most dangerous maritime regions with regards to piracy. In particular, the report highlighted a sharp escalation in piracy-related activity off the coast of Nigeria, and the region now challenges both the Malacca Straits and the Somali coastline as one of the world’s most piracy prone maritime environments.
During 2007, some 42 incidents of piracy were reported in these waters, compared to 12 in 2006. The majority of these attacks occurred around Lagos, Nigeria’s main port and commercial centre, and in the oil rich Niger Delta region.
In the Delta, the problem of piracy has been compounded by a growing insurgency, where militants are fighting for an increased share of the region's oil wealth and have attacked shipping interests in pursuit of this cause. Given the number of piracy incidents over the past 18 months and the level of continuing instability in the Delta region, it appears likely that Nigeria’s maritime security environment will remain precarious for the foreseeable future.
