UN welcomes Gulf of Guinea piracy drop, but sees new threat

A senior United Nations official on Tuesday welcomed a substantial decrease in piracy incidents this year in the Gulf of Guinea, the world’s top hot spot for such attacks, but warned that pirate groups may be moving into more lucrative maritime crimes.
“The threat of piracy has cost the region lives, stability, and over $1.9 billion in financial losses every year,” Ghada Waly, executive director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, told the U.N. Security Council. “We must prevent the threat from simply taking a different form.”
According to new UNODC research, pirates may be moving into criminal oil bunkering — providing fuel to ships — as well as theft and smuggling, Waly said.
Law enforcement authorities in the 19 countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea need support to combat “different forms of trafficking and illegal oil refining as well as illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing among others,” she said.
To close down options for criminals at sea, she said, the UNODC suggests that the region develop a framework to expand cooperation among Gulf of Guinea countries.