The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) is calling for ships to use increased caution inWest Africa to guard against piracy.
IMB reports that one ship, MT Kerala, has been hijacked so far this year in the region, and six more were boarded.
“A large share of the recent piracy attacks targeted vessels carrying petroleum products,” the group said in a report.
“These vessels are attacked because there is a booming black market for fuel in West Africa.
A Nigerian Navy official has put the total financial cost of maritime crime, including piracy, smuggling, and bunker fraud, at N250 million ($1.5 billion).
IMB warns that the Kerala incident suggests that Nigerian pirate gangs are operating farther south than in the past.
West Africa experienced 19 percent of worldwide pirate attacks last year, and Nigerian pirates accounted for 31 out of the 51 attacks reported in the region.
The pirate gangs typically hijack a vessel for its cargo, often gas oil, and crew members are sometimes injured or kidnapped.
After the Kerla disappeared off the¬†Angola¬†coast and then reappeared¬†with $8 million in diesel having been stolen, the ship’s owner said it had been hijacked by pirates, but Angolan officials argued the attack was faked.
Via: http://shipandbunker.com/
