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Africa Subsaharan
Pirates Now Prefer Human Hostages Over Ships and Cargo
2019-12-23
[Bloomberg] ...But the word from the high seas hasn’t been calming.

There have been two large-scale acts of piracy in the waters off West Africa this month alone. On Dec. 3, 19 people were taken hostage when hijackers attacked the oil tanker Nave Constellation as it was anchored off the coast of Nigeria. In the first nine months of 2019, more than 100 ships around the world were assaulted by pirates, with most of the hostage-taking occurring in the broad Gulf of Guinea—shared by Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Togo, and Cameroon. According to the International Maritime Bureau, about 86% of the incidents worldwide took place there. The hijacking of the Nave Constellation is just one of the latest attacks, says Max Williams, chief operation officer of security firm Africa Risk Compliance Ltd. “There’s been a spate in the last 40 days of quite significant maritime security incidents in the area.”

In the first nine months of 2019, more than 100 ships around the world were assaulted by pirates, with 86% of the hostage-taking occurring in the broad Gulf of Guinea—shared by Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Togo, and Cameroon.
“Piracy is a business,” says John Steed of the Hostage Support Partnership. “And the investors are still putting money in the business.” He adds, “As piracy is reduced in East Africa, piracy in West Africa and Southeast Asia has increased.” It feeds off the enormous amount of global ship traffic, with 11 billion tons shipped internationally in 2018. Says James Gosling, a consultant for Holman Fenwick Willan’s London office who was awarded an Order of the British Empire by the Queen for his work on releasing hostages: “If you ask the average person in this country where their fridge comes from they would just say the supermarket. They don’t realize we import 90% of our stuff.”
Posted by:trailing wife

#14  Somehow I don't like the idea of Chinese military floats in the region.
Posted by: Dron66046   2019-12-23 19:47  

#13  My friend tells me nothing short of regime change and actually accountable governments in Nigeria will help. But he's a navy man, a bloody rubber duck collecting Yatch golfer, what does he know ? I'm for napalming several acres in the Niger delta, wipe off the MEND and the crazies.
Also that we shamefully paid $2 million recently for some of our kidnapped sailors ! That and China is seeking to militarily secure a port of Conakry in Guinea, and has a $150 million investment in port Lekki, nigeria with advance payments for safe passage of materiel to everyone from officials to many pirate cartels who kidnap people.
Posted by: Dron66046   2019-12-23 19:44  

#12  Responding to something half read is a general problem, dear Dron66046, for which I’ve had to apologize far more often than I am comfortable admitting.
Posted by: trailing wife   2019-12-23 19:31  

#11  Silly me, TW. Behaving like a twitterer, didn't even read the full thing and went off. I'll consult an idle navy guy right away.
Posted by: Dron66046   2019-12-23 19:17  

#10  “As piracy is reduced in East Africa, piracy in West Africa and Southeast Asia has increased.”

It’s not Somalia, anymore, Dron66046. Since you report that armed self defense has worked so well on that side of things, it’s time for shippers passing the west coast of Africa to adopt proven methods.
Posted by: trailing wife   2019-12-23 18:47  

#9  
I heard from a marcos buddy that some naval vessels and illegally armed merchants almost always destroy them whenever they can. A lot of dead pirates in the oceans, with Indian/Chinese/Sri Lankan/New Zealand bullets in 'em. Naturally they don't report them. Who wants a Zulu chief or some Kenyan tribal in a suit at the UN seat sneering down at them for saving their own ship ?

Periodic surgical drone strikes on suspicious vessels between the gulf of Aden and Socotra might be good ? What could they do, the somalis - take you to the ICJ ? Tell the soddy's to claim it's their drones.
Posted by: Dron66046   2019-12-23 18:01  

#8  ..the original 'corporate raiders'.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2019-12-23 17:57  

#7  Pirates are the enemies of all mankind, the original outlaws. Shoot, shovel, and shut up.
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2019-12-23 17:12  

#6  Leave as shark food.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2019-12-23 16:58  

#5  Clandestine prison ship, rotating crews. She never docks. Always refueled and resupplied at sea.

You can board her, but you can never leave.
Posted by: Besoeker   2019-12-23 11:59  

#4  Bait ship with ebola carrying vectors.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2019-12-23 11:56  

#3  Easier to transport and maintain and the pay is almost as good.

I would assign some SEAL and Ranger kill teams to this problem.
Posted by: DarthVader   2019-12-23 11:24  

#2   unpaid and on the wrong end of a visit from the SEALs or SAS

As the Freakonomics boys say, economics is all about incentives.

This might be a opportunity for private military contractors, given government reluctance and lack of capability to get their hands dirty. Lots of whinging from the ICC, Amnesia International and rest of the usual suspects, but all this stuff (piracy and it's consequences) happens in rather lawless areas. Hard boys, hard consequences. Think sea-going RAB.
Posted by: SteveS   2019-12-23 06:42  

#1  ....A few of these groups find themselves unpaid and on the wrong end of a visit from the SEALs or SAS, and I suspect it would slow down PDQ.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2019-12-23 03:57  

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