By Uche Usim
A recent upsurge in the menace of pirates’ attacks in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) has kept stakeholders in the maritime sector uncomfortable.
Recently, the United Nations Security Council noted that Nigeria loses about $1.5 billion a month due to piracy, armed robberies at sea, smuggling and fuel supply fraud.
The criminals reportedly board vessels, steal valuables on board, divert cargoes (especially petroleum products) and kidnap crew for ransom.
Investigations also reveal that a good number of pirates operating within the GoG are from Nigeria, a development that has dented the nation’s image on the global business scene as seafarers demand double salaries before venturing into the country.
Between January and March 2016, no fewer than 44 ship crew members were reportedly abducted, a development the Director of International Maritime Bureau (IMB), Pottengal Mukundan, described as “unacceptable”.
He added that reports in the last quarter of 2015 were indicative of more violence against ships and crews in the GoG, particularly around Nigeria than anywhere in the world.
However, maritime experts have called for a number of measures to deal with the problem and reduce piracy to the barest minimum.
These include tougher legislation, higher presence of armed military men/patrol of hotspots, heavier penalties for offenders, among others.
Military-led patrols
In addressing the piracy nightmare, the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, in a recent engagement with journalists in Lagos, said a legal framework that would prescribe stiffer sanctions, a more vigorous and vigilant military-led patrol, better intelligence gathering network and other mechanisms are being put together.
“We are signing fresh MoUs with the Navy and the Air Force to ensure wider coverage of our waters. NIMASA is on the verge of acquiring fast moving patrol boats. We’ve put out the advertisements for bids. Hopefully, the entire process will be wrapped up in September.
“Another thing we’re doing is interfacing more with other agencies. For instance, we’ve our own Satellite Surveillance System, the Navy also have theirs called Falcon 1. The support from Navy also includes the deployment of Multi- Purpose Vessels (MPVs). The Air Force also has unmanned aerial vessels too. The NPA also has its own satellite surveillance and all these operations are coordinated by the office of the National Security Adviser. This is what we are doing to check piracy. When the pirates know the waters are manned and no longer free as before, they’ll have a rethink before venturing into the sea to attack vessels,” he explained.
Legal framework
Maritime experts say Nigeria is about the only country without dedicated anti-piracy laws and this makes pirates literally escape getting punishments from the courts. Some get a paltry N50,000 fine for the heinous crimes they commit.
Consequently, pirates have not seen any legal hurdles to deter them from venturing into various crimes at sea where they earn millions of dollars from ransom paid to free kidnapped crew and sales of cargoes on the hijacked vessels.
To address this, Peterside said management of NIMASA is championing a bill that would proffer stiffer punishment for all culprits of piracy and thereby deter them from the criminal act.
“We discovered that there is no dedicated anti-piracy law. The legal instrument is currently with the Ministry of Justice. From there, it will move to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and then move to the National Assembly to be passed into law. When operational, pirates will no longer be bailed with ridiculous amounts of money. They will be severely punished because piracy is clearly an act of economic sabotage. The punishment will serve as a deterrent to all real and potential culprits of piracy. The criminal trade will become less attractive and by so doing, we’ll reduce piracy,” he added.
Removal of shipwrecks
Terminal operators, shipowners and other maritime stakeholders have urged the Federal Government to immediately remove various ship wrecks on the nation’s waterways as sea robbers and pirates use them as hideouts and survey platforms to monitor ships to be attacked.
The Manager, Health, Security, Safety and Environment of ENL Terminal, Mr. Raphael Oyinloye, recently raised the alarm over the wrecks that litter the Lagos water channels.
He said the miscreants have taken their unlawful acts to Tin Can Island, saying such abandoned vessels pose a great threat to terminal operations.
He therefore called on the Director General of NIMASA, Peterside, and his counterpart in the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mallam Habib Abdullahi, to remove the wrecks before the miscreants launch any attacks on vessels or port facilities.
Intelligence gathering
Security experts insist that tackling piracy requires a multi-national and multi-agency approach, especially within countries in the GoG. They likened it to war against insurgency where Nigeria and other neighbouring countries have constituted a multi-national task force to battle the insurgents.
They said such multi-national collaboration and cooperation, especially in intelligence, will help route out the pirates as they would not have safe haven to nest their nefarious activities.
The NIMASA boss has assured that such international partnerships is being cemented by the agency.
Economic impact
The pirates’ attacks affect the Nigerian economy in many devastating ways. Aside being a major source of oil, the GoG represents a significant transit hub for cocoa and metals destined for world markets. London think-tank, Chatham House, reported that up to 400,000 barrels of crude oil are stolen everyday in the GoG.
Experts say incidents that occur in Nigeria’s territorial waters affect the global economy as there are more interconnected shipping supply networks. Britain’s Deputy UN Ambassador, Peter Wilson, pointed out that between those two pirate attacks, seven countries were affected, including Malta and Liberia whose flags were on the ships, Turkey, Greece and Nigeria where the cargo originated from, Egypt, Philippines and Turkey where the missing crew men came from.
While sea piracy is decreasing worldwide, the International Maritime Bureau said it is increasing at an alarming rate in the GoG and needs to be urgently tackled.