This archive report was first published on 25 July 2019.
On July 24, 2019, Ghana's defence minister, Dominic Nitiwul, sounded the alarm on the growing threat of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, warning that it poses a significant risk to regional trade plans.
The Gulf of Guinea is the most dangerous stretch of sea for pirate attacks in the world, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). In the first half of 2019, 62 seafarers were taken hostage or abducted in the area, accounting for 73 percent of kidnappings and 92 percent of hostage-takings at sea worldwide.
Just days before Nitiwul's warning, a group of ten Turkish sailors were kidnapped by alleged pirates off the coast of Nigeria. The incident highlights the need for increased security measures in the region.
"The threats to maritime security and safety transcend borders and have the propensity to affect international trade hence a threat to one coastal nation is a threat to all nations; coastal or landlocked," Nitiwul said at a major maritime conference in Accra.
The conference, which included a delegation from the US navy, also focused on other pressing issues such as illegal fishing, oil thefts, and human and drug trafficking.
