Piracy Is Now Spreading To The West Coast Of Africa

Piracy attacks since the beginning of the year. (Photo from Ministry of Jesus Benin)

Pirates Take New Territory: West African Gulf Of Guinea -- Christian Science Monitor

Pirates are making headway off the West African coast – the Gulf of Guinea is second only to Somalia in terms of pirate attacks.

It was Nov. 24, and the German-owned oil tanker MT Cancale Star was plying the blue ocean water 18 miles from shore when the crew spotted a speedboat full of pirates, approaching fast.

If this sounds like just another day in Somalia, think again. The MT Cancale Star was off the coast of the West African country of Benin, and the pirates were Nigerian.

The Gulf of Guinea is second only to Somalia in terms of such attacks, with some 32 pirate strikes reported in the first nine months of 2009.

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My Comment: The focus has been on the piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the Indian Ocean, and how to stem the attacks. But criminal gangs across Africa are now noting the lucrative benefits of piracy, and the inability of the international community to stop and/or prosecute this criminal enterprise.

My prediction .... piracy has the potential of becoming a continent wide problem, with consequences that are going to impact international trade and commerce.