Gulf of Guinea Focus: Week 29
- Agwe Global
- Jul 17
- 5 min read
The Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN) is set to hold its 3rd Annual Maritime Lecture (MAMAL) on August 28, 2025, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, with a strong focus on exposing alleged fraudulent practices by international shipping lines and advocating for the removal of War Risk Premiums imposed on vessels calling at Nigerian ports.This year’s lecture, themed “Addressing the Burden of War Risk Insurance on Nigerian Maritime Trade,” will spotlight what MARAN describes as “systemic extortion” under the guise of War Risk Insurance—an outdated surcharge that continues to be levied despite the significant improvement in security within the Gulf of Guinea. Speaking on the upcoming event, MARAN President Mr. Godfrey Bivbere described the War Risk Premiums (WRP) as an “international fraud” that unjustly penalizes Nigeria’s economy. “Despite our improved maritime security, foreign shipping lines continue to burden us with excessive surcharges that have no basis in current realities,” he said. According to findings by MARAN, the surcharges vary widely—ranging from $445,000 per voyage for Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) to $525,000 per voyage for new container vessels. Additionally, some shipping companies, including Maersk, are said to impose further charges such as transit disruption surcharges and war risk surcharges of $40–$50 per 20-foot container.
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In the early hours of June 18, 2025, a band of terrorists attacked the Naval Base Lake Chad in Baga, Borno State, targeting military equipment at the base, including swamp buggies recently made available by the Governor of Borno State. A terrible mistake. Naval personnel at the base effectively repelled the attack, neutralising several of the attackers and leaving many others injured. The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, visited the base days after the aborted attack, to express gratitude to the officers and men of the base, and boost morale. If the terrorists thought this attack might dampen military morale, it ended up achieving the opposite; the Nigerian Navy is more than determined to redouble its efforts towards securing the Lake Chad area, with the deployment of more personnel and equipment to bolster the base. In addition, the CNS directed that the swamp buggies, which the terrorists failed to destroy, be put into immediate use to commence clearing of the waterways. From Lake Chad to Rivers Niger and Benue, to the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Guinea, the Nigerian Navy is busy at work, fulfilling its constitutional mandate and protecting Nigeria, West Africa, and Africa.
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West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea, lower piracy incident numbers notwithstanding, still poses “significant risks” for seafarers, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) warns in its latest piracy and armed robbery against ships report. The report covers the first six months of the year and points to the Singapore Strait as the world’s piracy and armed robbery hotspot with 57 incidents in the timeframe under review – up from 15 incidents for the same period last year. The 98 nautical mile long strait between the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca all told accounted for over 60% of all globally reported incidents, according to the IMB, a division of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Commercial Crime Services. Globally, piracy and armed robbery reached 90 reported incidents in the first half of 2025, a 50% increase compared to the same period last year and the highest number of reported incidents for corresponding periods since 2020. Seventy-nine vessels were boarded along with six attempted attacks, four hijackings and one vessel fired at. As far as ships’ crews are concerned, 40 were taken hostage, 16 kidnapped, five threatened, three assaulted and the same number injured.
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As maritime commerce continues to serve as the lifeblood of global trade, piracy and armed robbery at sea remain persistent threats to regional stability, economic viability, and human security. Despite a decade-long decline in global piracy incidents, recent data indicates a troubling resurgence in two historically vulnerable regions: the Gulf of Guinea (West Africa) and the Strait of Malacca/Sulu-Celebes Sea (Southeast Asia). These two maritime corridors are among the most strategic and busiest shipping lanes in the world. Yet, they are increasingly becoming theatres of criminal opportunism, geopolitical laxity, and systemic governance failures. This column explores the recent uptick in maritime crime in both regions, the evolving nature of piracy, underlying causes, and pragmatic solutions. A Worrying Trend: Data Doesn’t Lie According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), piracy and armed robbery incidents increased in 2024 after years of decline. The Gulf of Guinea recorded 21 incidents in 2023, up from 19 in 2022, but with higher severity – including two kidnappings involving 17 crew members. Meanwhile, Southeast Asia – particularly the Singapore Strait, Strait of Malacca, and Sulu-Celebes Seas – saw a significant spike, with over 60 reported incidents in 2023, up from 55 in 2022.
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Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to securing a seat in Category C of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council as it took its campaign to a global Maritime and Aviation Symposium in Singapore. The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, who was represented by the Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Bola Oyebamiji, emphasised Nigeria’s readiness to modernise its maritime infrastructure to foster a sustainable, secure and investment-driven industry. Oyetola underscored the strategic importance of Nigeria’s vast maritime resources, saying the country’s push for a Category C seat is aimed at enhancing its ability to contribute meaningfully to global maritime policies and decision-making processes. “The IMO seat will empower Nigeria to influence the global maritime ecosystem and position the country as a major stakeholder in shaping international maritime policies, especially in the West African sub-region,” Oyetola noted. The symposium focused on ‘Job Creation and Economic Growth in Nigeria’s Maritime and Aviation Sectors’ with NIWA showcasing key initiatives being implemented to unlock the economic potential of Nigeria’s blue economy
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Nigerian pirates kidnapped two government officials in Idabato, a Cameroonian border town in the Bakassi Peninsula, on 1 October 2024. One hostage, Ewane Ekeh, was released on 17 March, after six months in captivity in Nigeria. The second, Etongo Ismael, remains in captivity. Since 2021, counter piracy measures have been in place in the Bight of Biafra (or Bight of Bonny), an ocean region stretching from the Niger River mouth in Nigeria to Cape Lopez in Gabon. This has seen an overall decline in maritime piracy crime, compelling pirates to find alternative criminal activities to support themselves. They have focused primarily on hostage-taking for ransom, the crime to which Messrs Ekeh and Ismael fell victim. A rise in hostage-taking incidents in the Bight of Biafra since October 2023 can be associated with its proximity to the Niger Delta, the epicentre of maritime crime in the region, where waters are largely ungoverned. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has reported the presence of Nigerian pirate camps in border areas near Cameroon. This was confirmed by Cameroon’s Delta Rapid Intervention Battalion (RIB) commander Colonel Ndikum Azieh, who said there were nine active Nigerian pirate groups operating in the Bakassi Peninsula.
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