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The tendency of nation States to attempt solving the problem of modern piracy exclusively through the employment of their naval and military might is a flawed effort and has, more often than not, proved unsuccessful. At best, it has resulted in a temporary suppression of the problem that has inevitably re-manifested itself at a later stage.

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, ‘moder