This paper aims to analyse the reasons for the rise of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, its characteristics, the primary drivers for the growing menace and international responses; it also compares the differences in modus operandi between Gulf of Guinea and Somalian piracy.
Till the early 1980s, piracy was often dismissed as being “archaic Tand folklore of the past”, rarely entering the main maritime discourse. But true to its nature, ‘modern’ piracy has emerged with a vengeance in many hotspots of the world. Modern piracy is an extremely complex problem that is often the manifestation of various socio-political dynamics of a particular area. Each area has its own unique methodology of piracy that is often different from other regions. In an attempt to fully understand the intricacies of piracy, different methodologies can be adopted. While some experts follow the geographic classification, others prefer categorising according to the intensity of attacks or the differing rationale behind such attacks.
The most commonly accepted method is geographic classification, i.e. where the attacks take place. It has been noticed that pirates operating in a particular area naturally fellow certain ethos and a distinct methodology. Thus, there is the overarching ‘Asian Piracy’, which has various subtypes depending on the precise area of operation. This includes Malaccan piracy, once rife in the Strait of Malacca, which has now waned due to combined multi-pronged response strategies by the bordering States of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Piracy in the South China Sea is similar to Malaccan piracy in many ways. The Bangladeshi variety, occurring mainly off Chittagong, and the Indian variety, off the eastern and the western coasts, are similar and often amount to petty theft. They can be termed as armed robbery occurring near the coast.
While media hype has riveted global attention on piracy emanating from the failed state of Somalia (and the semi-autonomous state of Puntland), piracy elsewhere has not received the attention it deserves. Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, on the western side of Africa, has often been glossed over by the world at large even though it is rising exponentially and is considered more violent and complex than piracy in the Indian Ocean. The reason for this lack of focus could be that, unlike in the Gulf of Guinea, Somalian piracy affects a larger number of shipping companies and their merchant ships. The keen interest of affected countries is evident from the large military presence in the Horn of Africa coupled with a demand for greater synergy between the myriad task forces and respective navies. No such intense international effort is visible in the Gulf of Guinea although the situation is equally grave with oil supplies being affected and heightened chances of attacks taking place.
This paper aims to analyse the reasons for the rise of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, its characteristics, the primary drivers for the growing menace and international responses; it also compares the differences in modus operandi between Gulf of Guinea and Somalian piracy. Finally, the paper suggests a set of recommendations on how to overcome the problem given the constraints of the prevailing atmospherics.