Gulf of Guinea Sees Piracy Drop as Oil Price Deters Looters

By Divine Ramzi

(Bloomberg) — Piracy in West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea has declined as the value of oil plunged to the bottom stage since 2002.

While assaults on maritime vessels have dropped prior to now yr, nations bordering the gulf ought to work to proceed enhancing safety coordination, Gulf of Guinea Commission Executive Secretary Florentina Adenike Ukonga stated in an interview in Yaounde, Cameroon, on Monday.

“With oil at a low bottom price of below $30 per barrel, piracy is no longer such a profitable business as it was when prices hit $106 a barrel a few years ago,” she stated. “The price drop has contributed a great deal in reducing piracy and other maritime crimes in the Gulf of Guinea.”

Attacks on ships transporting oil within the Gulf fell by a couple of third in 2015 from a yr earlier, Dryad Maritime, a U.Okay.- based mostly delivery marketing consultant, stated in a report final month. Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, is positioned on the Gulf of Guinea. There is a threat that the assaults will choose up pace as soon as oil rebounds, Ukonga stated.

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