Chairperson of the Gulf of Guinea Commission, Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo has called on sister countries of the Commission to strengthen their efforts in tackling activities of pirates in the Gulf of Guinea.
For over a decade, container ships, fishing vessels, and oil tankers have been attacked by pirates.
Out of the 90 global piracy and armed robbery incidents reported between January and September 2022, 13 occurred in the Gulf of Guinea region. In the same period in 2021, 27 cases were recorded.
Despite the decline, President Akufo-Addo has noted that the Commission cannot rest on its oars but ensure it totally eradicates the activities of pirates.
“It is important that we have some serious discussion on these items in order to come up with strategies geared towards strengthening peace and security in winning the fight against maritime-related crimes in the region, such as piracy, illegal unreported and, unregulated fishing, arms trafficking, pollution of the environment, smuggling, fuel and crude oil theft.”
The president made the plea while addressing the 3rd Extraordinary session of the Assembly of heads of state in government of the Gulf of Guinea Commission on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.
This was the first in-person summit of the Commission since. The COVID-19 pandemic resorted to the use of virtual channels to communicate.
As part of measures to safeguard the Gulf of Guinea, President Akufo-Addo proposed a possible expansion of the membership of the Commission to include all 19 coastal states of the geopolitical Gulf of Guinea.
This, he said, was “for effective collaboration of our navies, Coast Guards, and other relevant maritime security agencies in the geopolitical space of the Gulf of Guinea.”
Data from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) shows that at the beginning of 2023, the number of pirate attacks on the world’s oceans reached a 30-year low.
Between January and March, there were 27 pirate attacks and armed robbery on ships, compared to 37 instances during the same time period last year.
Source: The Independent Ghana