Piracy drops in Gulf of Guinea, Nigerian waters-IMB

The Nigerian Navy yesterday the Gulf of Guinea region recorded at least 28 incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the first nine months of 2021. He said a single crew member was kidnapped in the third quarter of the year under review. Navy spokesman, Suleiman Dahun, who disclosed this in a statement, was quoting […]

The Nigerian Navy yesterday the Gulf of Guinea region recorded at least 28 incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the first nine months of 2021.

He said a single crew member was kidnapped in the third quarter of the year under review.

Navy spokesman, Suleiman Dahun, who disclosed this in a statement, was quoting the latest piracy report from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) released this week,

He said the report showed that these incidents were the lowest reported in 17 years.

He added: ‘’With, at the other end of the scale, 51 crew kidnapped, eight taken hostage and one killed’’.

He said the report also showed there were 85 vessels boarded, nine attempted attacks, two vessels shot at and one hijacked.

“Notably, Nigeria reported only four, compared to 17 in 2020 and 41 in 2018. Crew kidnappings in the region dropped with a single crew member kidnapped in quarter three 2021, compared to 31 in five separate incidents during the same quarter in the preceding year.

“All 2021 quarter three incidents were against vessels at port anchorages and the average successful kidnapping location was 100 nautical miles from land.”