— IMB says four incidents recorded in first nine months of 2021

Eyewitness Reporter

As the sophisticated deep blue assets commissioned in June have been deployed, the pirates and other criminals on the Nigerian waters have started to feel the heat of the multi-prong onslaught.

This has resulted in the dwindling operations of the pirates as they are beginning to flee the Nigerian waters.

This assertion was evident in the latest statistics released by the International Maritime Bureau(IMB) in its latest reports.

According to the IBM piracy reporting centre, Nigeria only reported four incidents of pirate attacks in the first nine months of 2021, in comparison to 17 in 2020 and 41 in 2018.

“The Gulf of Guinea region recorded 28 incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the first nine months of 2021, in comparison to 46 for the same period in 2020.

”Most notably, Nigeria only reported four incidents in the first nine months of 2021, in comparison to 17 in 2020 and 41 in 2018.

”Crew kidnappings in the region have dropped with only one crew member kidnapped in Q3 2021, compared to 31 crew members taken in five separate incidents during Q3 2020. All Q3 incidents in 2021 were also against vessels at port anchorages whilst the average successful kidnapping location in Q3 2020 was approximately 100NM from land” the report said.

The overall reduction of piracy and armed robbery incidents in the region is a testament to enhanced maritime security and response coordination measures adopted by regional and national authorities, according to IMB.

Despite these gains, IMB warns that the risk to crew remains high in the region and that such efforts must therefore be sustained.

“We welcome the decrease of piracy and armed robbery attacks in the Gulf of Guinea and the efforts taken by maritime authorities in the region,” said Michael Howlett, Director, ICC International Maritime Bureau.

“However, there needs to be sustained efforts to ensure the continued safety of seafarers as they transport essential goods throughout the region.

”Coastal States must redouble their coordination and security measures to ensure that piracy and armed robbery incidents continue to decline.”

Nigeria has been leading in the aggressive campaign and onslaught against piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

With its deployment of the multi-million naira assets under the deep blue project, pirate attacks and armed robbery incidents have been on the downward trend, a development which the IMB commended and advised that they should be sustained.

The land assets under the project include the Command, Control, Communication, Computer, and Intelligence Centre (C4i) for intelligence gathering and data collection; 16 armoured vehicles for coastal patrol; and 600 specially trained troops for interdiction, known as Maritime Security Unit.

The sea assets include two Special Mission Vessels and 17 Fast Interceptor Boats. The air assets comprise two Special Mission Aircraft for surveillance of the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ); three Special Mission Helicopters for search and rescue operations; and four Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

In addition to these, 600 personnel drawn from the agencies which are involved in the project, have been trained by Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency(NIMASA), the agency which drives the project.

Meanwhile, the ICC International Maritime Bureau also declared that piracy and armed robbery incidents globally dropped to their lowest in decades as the lowest number of reported piracy and armed robbery incidents were recorded for the first nine months of any year since 1994.

IMB’s latest global piracy report recorded 97 incidents of piracy and armed robbery for the first nine months of 2021 – the lowest level of reported incidents since 1994.

In 2021, IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) reported 85 vessels boarded, nine attempted attacks, two vessels fired upon and one vessel hijacked.

Reported incidents are down to their lowest level in decades, but violence against seafarers has continued with 51 crew kidnapped, eight taken hostage, five threatened, three injured, two assaulted and one killed, according to the latest IMB statistics.

”While the reduction of reported incidents is welcome, IMB PRC warns that seafarers must remain vigilant as violence against crew remains high in many areas of the world, such as Singapore straits, Coast of Peru which recorded high incidents of piracy.

The Singapore Straits reported 20 incidents of armed robbery – the highest number recorded since 1991. Reported incidents in the Singapore Straits are up from 15 in 2020 and just one incident in 2019. These attacks are low-level and opportunistic in nature, but IMB warns that the perpetrators pose a direct threat to seafarers and vessels underway. In four incidents, the crew were either threatened, assaulted, or injured.

The Callao Anchorage in Peru is another area that has witnessed an increase in piracy activity with 15 reported incidents in 2021 – the highest number since 1991.

As with the Singapore Straits, these incidents are low-level thefts with knives being reported in 60% of the incidents. Attackers in the region possess the capacity to carry out violent attacks with three crew taken hostage and a further one each assaulted or threatened during the first nine months of 2021.

The IMB PRC reported a noticeable reduction in the number of reported incidents in Indonesian waters with only six low-level incidents reported in the first nine months of 2021, compared to 23 incidents during the same period in 2020.

This is the lowest total of reported piracy and armed robbery incidents in Indonesian waters since 1993. The report commends the policies and proactive response measures implemented by the Indonesian Marine Police informed IMB PRC reporting.

Since its founding in 1991, IMB PRC remains a single point of contact to report all crimes of maritime piracy and armed robbery, 24 hours a day.

Their prompt forwarding of reports, and liaison with response agencies, broadcast to shipping via GMDSS Safety Net Services, and email alerts to CSOs, all provided free of cost, help the response against piracy and armed robbery and the security of seafarers, globally.