Piracy threat moves closer to home

Piracy in the Indian Ocean/ Gulf of Aden and Red Sea regions is continuing to show no signs of easing, while African copycat pirates become bolder, threatening the shipping industry in South Africa. According to the International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Centre (IMB PRC), more than 60% of all piracy incidents reported last year were by pirate gangs operating off the coast of Somalia and in the Arabian Sea. However, it warned that the success of Somali pirates had prompted criminals in parts of Africa to try their hands at piracy. Since May, there has been an increasing number of pirate attacks reported off the coast of West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea. The IMB PRC said: “Since then, the number of attacks has increased significantly, although it’s virtually impossible to accurately gauge the amount of pirate activity due to insufficient reporting from the region.” Insurer Lloyd’s Market Association has listed the Gulf of Guinea in the same risk category as Somalia. This gives South Africa a reason to be concerned too; the increasing number of pirate attacks along the continent’s coastline could see the cost of shipping to and from the country skyrocket as increased insurance premiums burden shippers. This would also increase the price of imported goods and in turn make it more difficult to export from the country. The IMB PRC added: “With so much potentially at stake, it is perhaps remarkable that little is being done on the international stage to combat piracy in the region. “Local coastal defences are seen as weak, while the coastline itself is craggy and offers a variety of hiding places for attackers.” Earlier this year, speaking in Pretoria at a Southern African Development Community (SADC) extraordinary meeting on regional anti-piracy strategies, South Africa’s Defence Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, called for “robust rules of engagement” to deal with pirates. Sisulu told delegates: “Many times they [pirates] murder, take hostages, or do whatever is necessary to accomplish their mission.” She said that over the past few months piracy had become a major cause for concern for the southern Africa region. “Our major trade artery along Africa’s east coast is becoming increasingly vulnerable, with pirates moving south, especially with the recent discovery of oil and gas off the Tanzanian coastline,” she said. “With six million tonnes of oil transported around South Africa’s western coastline every month and SADC waters becoming an alternative route for companies wishing to avoid piracy around the Horn of Africa, our waters have become an attractive alternative to Somali pirates trying to avoid the clampdown of the maritime task forces around eastern Africa. “If pirates move into South African trade routes, it will have a detrimental effect on many economies,” she warned.