Pirate Attacks: Using Australian Experience to Boost Maritime Security in The Gulf Of Guinea

In recent years, the seas off West Africa have become “the world’s worst for pirate attacks,” according to the IMB. Attacks doubled in the Gulf of Guinea in 2018 compared to the previous year — the bulk of them due to piracy. Of the 75 seafarers taken hostage in the first half of this year, 2019, 62 were abducted in the gulf, IMB figures showed. The Gulf of Guinea now accounts for 73 percent of kidnappings and 92 percent of hostage-takings at sea worldwide, particularly off the coast of Nigeria, Guinea, Togo, Benin and Cameroon. The 17 countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea and adjacent coastline have limited surveillance and maritime defence capabilities. They have been trying for several years to bolster their means of intervention and to put in place closer collaboration.

The Gulf of Guinea countries must learn a lesson from Australia’s strong maritime security reputation that would have great symbolic value in demonstrating the significance of the maritime security challenges it share with her neighbours. As the scale and frequency of maritime threats grow in the Gulf of Guinea, there is an increasing need for Gulf of Guinea states to liaise with Australia to promote and preserve good order at sea. The desire to improve maritime security is a necessary step towards stamping out piracy and other maritime crimes. The emerging intra- and extra- regional naval collaborations need to be expanded and sustained.  To this end, the Gulf of Guinea states need to evolve an Australian integrated maritime strategy that will comprehensively address the various threats, challenges and opportunities that confront the region.

The Gulf of Guinea countries must learn from the Australian Government who has implemented a maritime security regime to help safeguard Australia’s maritime transport system and offshore facilities from terrorism and unlawful interference. Under this regime all security regulated ports, port facilities, offshore facilities, port and offshore service providers and ships (collectively, maritime industry participants) undertake security risk assessments and implement security plans to address identified risks.

Gulf of Guinea countries must learn from Australia who has played a leading role in maritime security concerns which have featured prominently in ASEAN member states’ individual and collective agendas. Issues as diverse as China’s aggressive maritime strategy, piracy, terrorism, transnational organised crime, and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the Asia–Pacific are consistently challenging sovereignty, the rule of law and regional stability. Australia has highlighted the importance of engagement in the region in response to the Chinese government’s challenge to US primacy in the Asia–Pacific. That thinking also needs to be applied to the broader set of maritime security threats facing Gulf Guinea region.

Gulf of Guinea countries must learn from Australia who is actively involved in naval cooperation programs across the region. Australia’s membership of the Heads of Asian Coast Guards Meeting continues to offer significant promise for coordination on maritime domain awareness. The forum was set up in 2004 to focus on cooperation in combating piracy, but the scope of discussions has since expanded to include law enforcement, maritime security, disaster prevention and relief, and capacity-building.

Gulf of Guinea countries must learn from Australian Defence Force which understands the importance of trust and has established an extensive framework of joint training programs. The Australian Defence Force Academy and the Royal Military College offer great opportunities to build long-term interpersonal and organisational relationships of trust.

The resurgence of pirate attacks in Gulf of Guinea waters is now a subject of serious concern to African states and indeed the international community. For the last decade, piracy in African waters is concentrated in three main regions, namely the Somali coast/the Gulf of Aden along the East African Coast; Nigeria’s territorial waters in West Africa; and the Mozambique Channel/Cape sea route in Southern Africa

Cost of Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea Region

The cost of piracy in the region comes in various shades. The loss of human lives and valuable property as well as infliction of bodily injuries and trauma to innocent crews and their families are the most obvious direct impacts of pirate activities.  Piracy makes needed trade and investment in the region more risky and expensive. Given the risk involved in transporting goods through the region, insurance premiums have been escalating as because shippers factor in higher risks into their operating costs. The International Bargaining Forum (a global labour federation for the transportation industry representing 690 labour unions including 600,000 seafaring members) has noted that from April 2012, the territorial waters of Benin and Nigeria will be designated a high risk area. The implication is that these waters will be treated the same as the high risk areas in the Gulf of Aden and near Somalia due to increased pirate attacks. It also entails that seafarers have the right to refuse to enter these waters and are entitled to double the daily basic wage and of death and disability compensation while within the areas of risk. This has impacts on the income of regional ports and the cost of goods destined for the region.

The Gulf of Guinea, whose coastline stretches in a huge arc from Liberia to Gabon, is notorious for piracy as well as oil theft, illegal fishing and human and drugs trafficking. In Malaysia, Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), a watchdog agency, recently said the 17 seamen were seized from two ships that were attacked within hours of each other while they were anchored off Douala.

Choong said one of the ships was a multipurpose German-owned ship that flew the flag of Antigua and Barbuda. “Eight crew were kidnapped from the ship, consisting of a total of 12 Asian and European sailors,” he said. The other vessel was a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier managed in Greece with a Greek owner. “There were 21 crew on board. All were Asians. Nine crew were taken. Ten Turkish sailors were freed last week after being kidnapped by “pirates” off Nigeria last month. Pirates normally seize sailors hoping to be paid ransom. Nine Chinese and eight Ukrainian seamen were abducted in attacks on two merchant ships off Cameroon, in the latest act of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, sources said Friday.

The attacks took place on Thursday last week in Cameroonian waters off the port of Douala, located at the apex of a gulf that has become a hotspot of seaborne crime. A Douala official told AFP on Friday that a total of 17 people had been abducted, including “nine Chinese civilian sailors” from one of the ships. The Cameroonian navy and the country’s port service had reported the kidnappings on Thursday but had been unable to give the number or nationality of those taken. A navy source said the kidnappers “are probably Nigerian pirates,” adding that Cameroon’s security forces had launched a search for them.

Gulf of Guinea countries must learn from Australia who always undertakes regulated maritime security, shipping and offshore facility operations and is a critical part of successfully developing a security plan. Security risks and vulnerabilities identified through this assessment will inform the mitigation measures contained in the security plan.

Gulf of Guinea countries must learn from Australia which has a long coastline and extensive maritime claims which means that Australia benefits from and has responsibility for an enormous maritime jurisdiction. Within this offshore area Australia faces significant, varied, and complex maritime security and ocean policy challenges. In response, Australia has taken a number of innovative steps toward enhancing its maritime security. Gulf of Guinea must review its maritime security in line with Australia’s past practice together with some of the more recent developments particularly efforts to enhance offshore maritime surveillance and enforcement, such as the creation of the Taskforce on Offshore Maritime Security and Border Protection Command, establishment of the Australian Maritime Identification System, and implementation of augmented security patrols.