While the Covid-19 pandemic may be partially responsible for 2020’s increase, there has been a general trend within the Gulf of Guinea towards increased pirate activity. The data on piracy for 2020 shows that 65% of kidnappings in the Gulf of Guinea occurred between May and July, roughly concurrent with when most of the world imposed economic lockdowns. Some have speculated that the uptick in pirate activity is a result of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, which has lead to economic hardship for many in the region and has shifted the focus of security forces elsewhere. The increased range and frequency of pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea is likely the reason for the JWC’s expansion of the West African Listed Area as it is now apparent that ships are vulnerable even while sailing in open ocean. This increased range is enabled by pirate “Motherships” which carry fuel and supplies for the fast speedboats used in attacks. While typically pirate attacks occur close to shore, this year some vessels have been attacked further out to sea with some incidents occurring hundreds of kilometers away from the shore. So far in 2020 there have been 49 recorded kidnappings in the West African region alone, putting 2020 on track to far exceed the number of kidnappings reported in 2019. On September 09 th, 2 Russian crew were kidnapped from the Water Phoenix, 31nm off the coast of Nigeria while en-route to Lagos, the latest vessel to be targeted in the area.

In the first 6 months of this year, the IMB (International Maritime Bureau) recorded 98 attacks, a 25% increase over 2019 levels with many of these attacks occurring within the Gulf of Guinea. Pirate attacks have increased in 2020 over their 2019 levels. The other Listed Areas, in the Indian Ocean and the coastal waters around Venezuela, remain unchanged from the May 2019 JWC Advisory. Vessel’s transiting these Listed Areas face an increase risk of piracy and thus vessel owners are required to notify their insurance underwriter of voyages which will pass through these areas. While previously the Listed Area included only coastal territory surrounding states in the Gulf, the Listed Area now extends south of Principe Island, and further west encompassing a large area of open ocean.

The Joint War Committee (JWC), a group composed of representatives from Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) and the International Underwriting Association (IUA), have issued an updated advisory regarding their Listed Area in the Gulf of Guinea. Hull War, Piracy, Terrorism and Related Perils

Map of pirate waters