Recently, the Joint War Committee released the updated “Hull War, Piracy, Terrorism and Related Perils Listed Areas”.
While previously only coastal territory surrounding states in the Gulf of Guinea were included, the Listed Area now increased significantly.
New boundaries are: a) West, from the coast of Togo 6° 06′ 45″ N, 1°12′E, b) South to high seas point 0° 40′ S, 3° 00′ E, c) East to Cape Lopez Peninsula, Gabon 0°40′S, 8° 42′E.
This is a consequence of the increasing attacks, where not only armed robberies are cheerless routine, but also kidnapping of crews for ransom demand. In 2020, piracy attacks have exceeded the level of 2019. In total, IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) recorded 98 incidents of pira-cy and armed robbery in the first half of 2020. Most of these attacks occurred within the Gulf of Guinea. Normally pirate attacks take place close to shore but some attacks escalated also geographically up to about 200 nm away from shore, mostly in Nigerian waters, but also attacks at Equatorial Guinea or Gabon were reported. While the piracy increased in the Gulf of Guinea, the activities in the Gulf of Aden, coast of Somalia and Sulu / Celebes are declining.
Even if there has been a significant growth of piracy attacks, it is still prohibited to have private armed guards on board while operating in the Gulf of Guinea.
To ensure safety while calling the Gulf of Guinea, a new Guideline has been released by the Nigerian maritime administration (NIMASA), which is represented by mem-bers of BIMCO, ICS, Intercargo, Intertanko and OCIMF.
The guidelines shall afford best protection by taking into consideration the existing Best Management Practice West Africa and UKHO Security Charts. Any vessels of the Briese fleet calling the Gulf of Guinea will get a renewed general order, which includes these guidelines. Additionally, the Anti Piracy Plan has been updated taking into considera-tion the wider range of piracy activities.
At least, if a vessel is trading in a High Risk Area high aware-ness and attention as well as good preparation / safety instruction to the crew is essential.