Gulf of Guinea this decade’s Somalia as vessel hijacks and kidnapping cases soar

Photo 187766511 © Jan Gajdosik - Dreamstime.com

Somali pirates dominated the shipping headlines for the best part of a decade – even to the point they became Hollywood material in the form of the Tom Hanks vehicle Captain Philips (although our personal preference is the brilliant low-budget Danish thriller Kapringen (A Hijacking) starring Pilou Asbæk). Nowadays, filmmakers will need to look at the west coast of Africa to find similar inspiration, according to this report from Splash247. The Gulf of Guinea is showing a marked increase in the number of crew members kidnapped, it says. “Incidents in the Gulf of Guinea are particularly dangerous, as over 80% of attackers were armed with guns, according to the latest IMB figures. All three vessel hijackings and nine of the 11 vessels fired upon in 2020 related to this region. Crew kidnappings were reported in 25% of vessel attacks in the Gulf of Guinea – more than any other region in the world.”