Foreign Affairs Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey is worried that activities of pirates operating on the Gulf of Guinea would affect economies around the gulf if urgent steps are not taken to address it.

Currently, the Gulf of Guinea is the world’s hotspot for maritime piracy. Over the last 15 years, container ships, fishing vessels, and oil tankers in the region have been the targets of numerous armed attacks and kidnappings.

Out of the 90 global piracy and armed robbery incidents reported between January and September 2022, 13 have been reported in the Gulf of Guinea region, compared to 27 over the same period in 2021.

At an ongoing conference at the Jubilee House to find solutions to the challenge, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said the 12 countries making the gulf must work to defeat the common enemy, the pirates.

"The leadership of the GGC (Gulf of Guinea Commission) and our citizens are generally concerned about the frequency of crimes at sea; the prevalence of illegal unregulated and unreported fishing in our waters, the increasing incidents of smuggling, oil theft, pipeline vandalism, trafficking and maritime terrorism that continue to pose significant threats to the economic lifeline of landlocked and costal countries of the Gulf of Guinea."

According to her, if the aforementioned threats are not attended to, sea transportation would become riskier, deadly and expensive for all countries along the Gulf of Guinea.

In a closed-door session of the conference to be held later, member countries of the Gulf will discuss strategies for strengthening peace and security in the fight against maritime-related crimes in the region.

Madam Botchwey is optimistic that there would be an establishment of common laws that would ensure "a common close fishing season for the territorial zones across the region that would aim at the conservation of the resources of the sea for the benefit of citizens of countries of the Gulf of Guinea."

Meanwhile, the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) has disclosed that it has been faced with some challenges despite its achievement.

Lack of timely response to issues of concerns raised by the commission, the inability to hold important meetings due to lack of participation, and lack of payment of dues are some of the concerns highlighted.  

According to the body, facilities installed some periods ago are almost damaged and the body could barely afford new structures due to lack of funds.