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The Gulf of Guinea remains a hotspot for piracy, representing the vast majority of seizures of sea hostages and kidnappings worldwide, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).
Earlier this month, 10 Turkish sailors were seized by pirates off the coast of Nigeria and reportedly being held for ransom.
This week, maritime experts and naval officers from across the Gulf of Guinea and elsewhere gather in Accra, the capital of Ghana, looking for ways to improve maritime defense and combat against piracy.
Piracy remains a serious problem, with 21 incidents reported this year, an improvement over the first half of 2018, which saw 31 attacks. According to the BMI, the decrease in pirate attacks follows the increase in the number of patrols of the Nigerian navy.
Efforts to fight against piracy
Rear Admiral of the Nigerian Navy, EE Aneke, said Nigeria's efforts against piracy were bearing fruit.
"We attribute it to the efforts of the navy over the past three years," Aneke said. "He has reviewed his methods of operation and the chief has taken specific measures to ensure the security of the area, so these measures have produced results, and we will also try to refine these efforts because the criminal elements find new ways to escape, so we make sure to upgrade our own patrol efforts and processes. "
Angolan Rear Admiral Narciso Fastudo Jr. said Nigeria's efforts were a good start, but further progress depends on the standardization of anti-piracy laws in the region.
"If we harmonize, we will have all the relevant international conventions in our laws, we will help balance the way we deal with crime," he said.
Threat in evolution
Kamal-Deen Ali, executive director of the Center for Maritime Law and Security in Africa, said piracy in the Gulf of Guinea was a complex and evolving threat.
It links current piracy around West Africa to the Niger Delta in Nigeria, where the economic and environmental impacts of oil production have triggered the violence.
Some of the fighters who fought against the government and the oil companies of the region got the amnesty and laid down their arms, Ali added, while others were left out and instead of perfecting their skills in hacking.
"So when you take out the high-level insurgents who were settled by the amnesty process and laid down their arms, the insurgents in the middle and the bottom then had to look for something else to do," Ali said. "Thus, having acquired the competence to attack ships from time to time since 2006, this skill has been transformed, developed and intensified to become a real piracy from 2012."
Whatever the cause of the hacking, the experts agree that it will be necessary to adopt combined and common approaches in all countries to make the shipping lanes safe for trade and crews.
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