Never have the dangers of shipping to Ghana or shipping to Nigeria been more prevalent, with more than 10 incidents of piracy and armed robbery reported in the first quarter of 2012. This is the same number as for the whole of 2011, with a further attack in neighbouring Benin also attributed to Nigerian pirates.

A Director of the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre said,
“At least six of the 11 reported incidents in Nigeria occurred at distances greater than 70 nautical miles from the coast, which suggests that fishing vessels are being used as motherships to attack shipping further afield. While the number of reported incidents in Nigeria is still less than Somalia, and hijacked vessels are under control of the pirates for days rather than months, the level of violence against crew is dangerously high.”

Somalia continues to dominate the figures with 43 attacks, including the hijacking of nine vessels and the taking hostage of 144 crew.But while the number of incidents and hijackings for Q1 are less than those in the same period in 2011, it is unlikely that the threat of Somali piracy will diminish in the short to medium term unless further actions are taken, said the IMB.

The report attributes the reduction in attacks to disruptive action and pre-emptive strikes by navies in the region.

This disruption of numerous pirate action groups emphasises the importance of the navies in both deterring and combating Somali piracy, said the IMB.

As of 31 March, suspected Somali pirates still held 15 vessels with 253 crew members as hostages, with an additional 49 crew members being held hostage on land, according to the IMB.