Gulf of Guinea Anti-Piracy Guidelines Updated

The Round Table of international shipping industry associations has released an updated version of ‘Guidelines for Owners, Operators and Masters for Protection Against Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea Region,’ the International Chamber of Shipping said in a release.

Piracy and armed robbery in the waters off West Africa have become an established criminal activities of very serious concern to the maritime sector. Incidents have recently occurred as far south as Angola, and as far north as Sierra Leone.

These attacks have become increasingly violent, often involving firearms, with cases of kidnapping for ransom also becoming more common.

The global shipping industry has therefore updated its existing Guidelines to take account of what has become a totally unacceptable security situation.

Although the nature of the attacks against shipping in West Africa differs from that of Somalia-based piracy, the basic principles of the Best Management Practices, previously developed by the industry to help protect against piracy in the Indian Ocean, are also applicable.

The updated Guidelines also take into account new regional maritime security initiatives in West Africa, in particular the Maritime Trade Information Sharing Centre for the Gulf of Guinea (MTISC GOG), which is now a focal point for gathering information on countering piracy and maritime crime in the region.

The Guidelines have been released in conjunction with the launch of the new MTISC GOG website which includes Regional Maritime Security Guidance and MTISC-GOG reporting procedures so as to help ensure a co-ordinated approach amongst ships operating in the Gulf of Guinea.