The US and Gabon have agreed to head up an international group which fights against piracy in the sea off the west coast of Africa.
The US released a statement saying the two countries have assumed the co-secretariat of the Friends of Gulf of Guinea, also known as the FoGG, for 2020.
The group includes Germany, Canada, the US, Italy, Japan, the UK, France, Belgium, Brazil, South Korea, Denmark, Spain, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, the EU, UN's drugs and crimes agency and Interpol. It focuses on maritime crime.
The Gulf of Guinea is the most dangerous sea in the world for shipping, according to One Earth Future's annual State of Maritime Piracy report.
Most of the attacks have been against ships involved in oil and gas transportation, such as tankers, bulk carriers and tugs.
Typically pirates have targeted tankers from Nigeria's rich oil and gas fields.
Piracy in the form of hijacking and kidnapping for ransom payments was also common off the coasts of Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo-Brazzaville and Cameroon.
Rich pickings at sea, political instability, the lack of law enforcement and poverty on land are all factors which have contributed to the increase in piracy.
Latest Stories
-
Man fakes his own kidnapping to hide infidelity from girlfriend
3 hours -
Accra 2023: LOC presents transportation plan to Technical Committee of African Games
3 hours -
My fashion career was birthed after deferring my course due to my father’s death – Elikem The Tailor
4 hours -
Meet 6 inspiring SHS girls who defied the odds to become community service champions
4 hours -
Opticians in Ghana decry lack of tools for professionals under training
4 hours -
EC can extend registration for peace to prevail in Bawku – CODEO
5 hours -
Niger attack: Soldiers killed by hundreds of jihadists in Kandadji
5 hours -
Acting was never my plan, it just happened – Mawuli Gavor
5 hours -
2023 GFA Elections: George Afriyie files application for injunction on Elective Congress
5 hours -
Ken Agyapong will support Bawumia if he loses – Government spokesperson on governance
5 hours -
Senior Police officers in Oforikrom receive training on RTI Act
6 hours -
This Saturday on Newsfile
6 hours -
Genser Energy donates gas turbine to Takoradi Technical University
6 hours -
Ghanaian medical anthropologist Prof Margaret Gyapong is co-elected president of RSTMH
6 hours -
The aim was to break me down – French envoy to Niger
6 hours