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Kidnappings by pirates up 40% in Gulf of Guinea - IMB

Published 14/10/2020, 12:11
Kidnappings by pirates up 40% in Gulf of Guinea - IMB

LAGOS, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Kidnappings rose by 40% in the
Gulf of Guinea in the first nine months of this year, and the
region off West Africa's coast now accounts for 95% of global
maritime kidnappings, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB)
said on Wednesday.
Eighty seafarers were taken in the Gulf of Guinea, a 2.3
million sq km (888,000 sq m) area bordering more than a dozen
countries, sharply up from the same period in 2019, and the
pirates are attacking further out to sea than before, the IMB
said.
Pirates armed with guns and knives attack everything from
oil platforms to fishing vessels and refrigerated cargo ships.
In one attack 95 nautical miles off the coast, the furthest
offshore attack reported in the region, pirates took 13 crew
hostage, which the IMB said illustrated "how well-organized and
far-reaching" the pirates are.
Experts say the bulk of the attackers come from Nigeria's
Niger Delta, which produces most of the petroleum from the
country, Africa's largest oil exporter, but the restive region
has an underdeveloped economy and limited jobs for locals.
In 2019, Nigeria enacted a standalone law against piracy,
and in August, a court in the oil hub of Port Harcourt made the
first convictions under the legislation.

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