Danish Shipping calls for European navy coordination to fight West African piracy

There is a need for renewed attention and action to fight piracy in West Africa in the light of the ongoing hijacking of Danish bunker supplier Monjasa’s tanker off Pointe Noire in Congo this week, Danish Shipping says.

PHOTO: Monjasa Reformer. Monjasa

The tanker, Monjasa Reformer, was hijacked by pirates late Saturday evening. It has stopped transmitting AIS data and remains undetected, according to Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade – Gulf of Guinea (MDAT-GoG).

Danish Shipping’s chief executive Anne H. Steffensen argues that the ongoing hijacking “shows with all clarity that the problems with piracy in West Africa are far from solved.”

Steffensen believes “the current situation clearly shows that most countries in the region do not have the necessary resources or capacities to respond to such an incident,” and so there is a need to find other solution as “the piracy problem in West Africa has not been solved.”

Danish Shipping has called on Danish authorities to contribute to efforts to increase training and surveillance in the region, but understands that the war in Ukraine has compelled the country to concentrate its naval forces elsewhere.

It also observed that there are several naval vessels from different countries in the area, especially from other EU countries, and has therefore called for greater coordination among them, so that their reach can be extended.

In an annual 2022 report for piracy and armed robbery against ships, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) urged continuous vigilance in the Gulf of Guinea region to sustain the progress made in 2022. The number of reported incidents in the region dropped from 35 in 2021 to 19 in 2022.

By Tuhin Roy

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