Gulf of Guinea Security

Experts work to beef up security in the GoG, through which an estimated 40% of Europe’s oil imports and 29% of U.S.-bound petroleum products pass annually.

Experts Work to Beef Up Gulf of Guinea Security
Moki Edwin Kindzeka

Experts are working to beef up security in the Gulf of Guinea, through which an estimated 40 percent of Europe’s oil imports and 29 percent of U.S.-bound petroleum products pass annually.

According to a report from the International Maritime Bureau, the gulf located off the central part of the West African coastline is becoming a new hot spot for piracy, with potential to eclipse the scale of high-seas crime seen off the Horn of Africa. Fifty-eight pirate attacks were recorded in the Gulf last year, including 10 hijackings. Nearly half of the attacks occurred off the coast of Nigeria, with others occurring off Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Benin and nearby countries.

In February 2012 alone, the report indicates, eight oil tankers were attacked.

But industrial petroleum vessels aren’t the only targets. Ships carrying cocoa and metals destined for world markets have also come under attack. Pirates have killed Cameroon security officials, and the mayor of Kombo Abedimo, a locality in western Cameroon, was taken captive by pirates while en route to Nigeria.

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Source: Voice of America.