Nigerian waters: new global center for maritime piracy

The annual survey “Global Maritime Security Review 2019”, published by Dryad Global, draws an overview of maritime piracy around the world. In West Africa, cases of abduction are significantly growing.

This threat has increased (+75%) especially over the last 18 months in Nigeria’s territorial waters. Two contributing factors stand behind the increase of this type of piracy: a more favorable risk/profit ratio for the perpetrators and an increasing police surveillance in West African waters.

The presence of law enforcement authorities is compelling pirates to resort to abduction as a way to compensate for their decreasing earnings following the decline in ship-related attacks (-42%), theft of ships and goods (-24%), armed attacks (-20%), collisions (-33%), moorings (-35%)… The Delta Niger has become in only few years the epicenter of maritime crime in West Africa. Cameroon is the second African country most affected by piracy.

With 11 attacks reported in 2019 (+83% compared to 2018), Cameroon ranks fourth in world’s most affected countries by maritime crime. The country stands behind Nigeria, Indonesia and Malaysia. Togolese and Beninese waters underwent 13 maritime attacks in 2019.