Following the incident in the Gulf of Guinea on 24 November involving the Danish frigate Esben Snare and a suspected pirate vessel, BIMCO calls on all naval forces in the area to further increase the pressure on piracy groups and hopes a continued naval presence will act as a deterrent.

The call comes after the Danish Armed Forces confirmed that the Danish frigate Esben Snare was involved in an incident involving suspected pirates on 24 November in the waters south of Nigeria. The Danish navy further announced that the frigate was close enough to send a team to the suspected pirates with the aim to board, but the vessel did not react when ordered to stop. The team issued warning shots after which the suspected pirates opened fire directly at the Danish soldiers who responded in self-defence. After a brief exchange of fire, four suspected pirates died, and one was injured. None of the Danish soldiers were hurt.

BIMCO has persistently called for international support in the area and in May launched the Gulf of Guinea Declaration on Suppression of Piracy together with the industry.

Following the incident, BIMCO’s Secretary General and CEO, David Loosley said, “BIMCO is grateful to the Danish Navy for their firm actions to stop suspected pirates in the Gulf of Guinea. While every loss of life is tragic, we note the Danish special forces – acting in accordance with international law – were forced to fire in self-defence directly against the suspected pirates.”

The Danish frigate left Denmark for Gulf of Guinea at the end of October 2021. The aim is that the visible presence of the Esben Snare in the area will be a deterrent for pirates, but Danish authorities have announced that the frigate will also try to actively locate pirates and intervene where possible if pirate attacks occur.