Piracy still a threat along the Gulf of Guinea coastline

The 6,000 km Gulf of Guinea coastline from Senegal to Angola, is still the most dangerous maritime area according to the latest report from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

The report shows the number of attacks in the area has increased in contrast with the overall decline of piracy observed in the world.

IBM noted that 37 attacks occured in the first quarter of the year against 54 in the same period last year.

According to the International Maritime Bureau, Nigeria appears as the epicenter of maritime piracy, due to the persistence of trafficking of fuel.

In 2012, piracy cost $6 billion to the world economy according to US researchers.

To pool efforts in the fight against piracy, countries in western and central Africa created the Interregional Center for Coordination of Maritime Safety in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde in 2014.