A dry cargo vessel was first boarded and then robbed by armed criminals on 14 September in Guinea’s Conakry anchorage. Per Ambrey, three robbers with AK rifles and blades boarded the “Martina,” while the remaining two stayed on a boat. When they saw the pirates, the crew mustered in the citadel, and the criminals robbed the vessel. There were no reports of any crew member being injured. The ship wasn’t under the protection of naval guards at that time.

Cautious gains in the Gulf of Guinea

Per the recent IMB piracy report, of 58 incidents, only 12 had been reported in the Gulf of Guinea, 10 of which were referred to as armed robberies and the remaining only two as cases of piracy.

In early April 2022, yet another Panamax bulk carrier was reportedly attacked. Some pirates later boarded it at about 260nm off the Ghana coast. This shows that despite a drop in reported incidents, the threat of Gulf of Guinea kidnappings and piracy continues.

IMB PRC commends the positive and prompt actions of the Italian Navy that resulted in the crew members and ship getting saved. It urges Coastal response agencies and independent international navies to continue efforts to ensure this crime is addressed in the waters that account for 74% of crew members taken hostage worldwide.

Recently, the Government of Nigeria and global shipping stakeholders introduced a brand new strategy to end piracy, armed robberies, and kidnappings in the Gulf of Guinea or the GoG.

The strategy launches a mechanism that will assess the effectiveness of country-piracy initiatives and their commitments to the GoG.

Targeted at stakeholders who operate in the region, it’ll identify the areas for enhancements and reinforcements to eliminate piracy.

Source: https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/pirates-attack-a-dry-bulk-carrier-off-the-coast-of-guinea/