Gulf of Guinea peak years 2018-2020 (aggregate)
regional trend summary · 2020-12-31 · Gulf Of Guinea (niger delta to cameroon)
- Date
- 2020-12-31
- Region
- Gulf Of Guinea
- Vessel
- Gulf of Guinea peak years 2018-2020 (aggregate)
- Vessel type
- mixed
- Incident type
- regional trend summary
- Outcome
- trend summary
- Casualties
- aggregate kidnappings
Summary
Peak years of Gulf of Guinea kidnap-for-ransom activity: 2018-2020 recorded ~50 kidnap incidents/year, ~135 officers kidnapped ashore per year, average captivity ~30 days. Dominant pattern: brief pirate boarding (30-60 minutes), kidnap of Master + Chief Officer + Chief Engineer, release of vessel + junior crew, hostages held in Niger Delta swamps for ransom. Nigerian Navy Operation Delta Sanity (2019-) + Deep Blue Project (2021-) + regional MSC coordination progressively reduced attack tempo. By 2023-2025, incidents fell to ~5-10/year primarily against fishing vessels + tugs.
Source
Reporting organisation: ICC IMB Piracy Reporting Centre
https://www.icc-ccs.org/piracy-reporting-centre
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