Illegal Fishing Is a Global Threat. Here’s How to Combat It…
7 June 2021
Drones, Choppers Deploy to Combat Piracy in Gulf Off Nigeria
14 June 2021
The Gulf of Guinea region has a legacy of piracy, armed robbery and armed criminality. From politically motivated early militant groups, such as MEND, staging attacks against oil and gas infrastructure to modern-day criminal groups taking foreign crewmembers for ransom from international vessels transiting deep off the West African coast, piracy and maritime criminality has proven to be elusive to the many efforts to counter it. Indeed, for the past five years, the focus of piracy activities in the Gulf of Guinea has shifted from pirate groups targeting vessels to steal oil cargo (petro piracy) to current Kidnap for Ransom (K&R) piracy, with cases of up to 18 crewmembers kidnapped per incident.
A further extract … Deep Offshore Pirate groups have also improved their boarding skills. According to one interviewee, pirates easily scaled a vessel with freeboard above 10m, adding that razor wire was “useless as protection.”99 Incident reports suggest that razor wire has only marginally contributed to slowing down pirates. A recent maritime security report argues that: “Both vessel operators and pirates have been learning from each other. At one time, ships felt safe from pirate boarding by putting razor wire around the vessel.
Pirates learned to pull the wire down with a grappling hook tied to a rope.”100 Furthermore, while onboard, analyses of specific incidents demonstrate strong organization, knowledge about navigation and maneuvering, and, to some extent, the ability to quickly disconnect tracking equipment to hinder easy location by authorities.10
ARX recommends following best management practices and installing Anti-Piracy Barriers and Water Cannons to prevent boardings taking place. To find out more about the ARX ABaC System the the Evictor Water Cannon visit the product pages http://www.arxmouldings.com/arx-abac
