Increasing Spate of Maritime Piracy and Armed Robbery in the Gulf of Guinea-West African Coast

 ….Implications for the maritime sector

Maritime piracy, armed robbery and terrorism are terms used to describe violent acts carried out by malevolent actors operating at sea. We typically correlate the latter with acts of war committed by rogue ideologues, while the former connotes criminal activities committed by brigands for profit. 

Such characterisations are shortsighted and fail to demonstrate the true meaning of the terms. Moreover, they invite conjecture about the nature of these threats and the factors that give rise to them.

Recent suggestions that a nexus may be forming between pirates and terrorists add further obfuscation to understanding the differences between them. Although there are similarities between the perpetrators of these acts, there are also defining characteristics that allow us to distinguish one from the other.

Policymakers must be able to clearly distinguish these two phenomena in order to develop effective counter-measures.

 The intent of this paper, however, is to establish the implications from the rising incidence of piracy along the West African Coast (Gulf of Guinea) on Ghana’s growing maritime sector.

There has been an increase in piracy and armed robbery against ships operating on the coast of West Africa or Gulf of Guinea.  In the last two years, there have been quite a number of reported piracy cases which threaten to undermine the safety and security of the maritime industry across the sub-region. 

It has been reported that Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea has now overtaken piracy in Somalia waters. A report by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) and other seafarers’ groups indicate that 966 sailors were attacked along the West African Coast in 2012, compared with 851 off the Somali coast which previously recorded higher numbers of attacks. 

Unfortunately, maritime piracy along the coast of West Africa differs from that off Somalia and may eventually prove harder to deal with. While on  the Somali coast there is a large concentration of patrolling warships -- from the US Navy, NATO, the EU and others as well as reconnaissance aircraft, all acting in a coordinated fashion -- the Gulf of Guinea has several national coastlines to patrol with no single unified policing body.

The sudden increase of pirate activities in the Gulf of Guinea and the increasing threat of terrorism in neighbouring Nigeria have raised grave security concerns to oil shipments in the West African sub-region; and these are undoubtedly too close for comfort as far as Ghana’s oil installations are concerned. 

Definition 

Despite serving as the representative body for international peace and stability, the United Nations (UN) does not offer a satisfactory definition for terrorism, armed robbery at sea or piracy.  For instance, piracy is defined by the UN in Article 101 of its Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as an act of violence or robbery carried out for private ends against another ship or person while on the high seas (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, 1982). This definition is ambiguous and restricts how states may pursue piratical instances vis-à-vis international law.

Similarly, the UN has not been able to provide the international community with an acceptable definition for terrorism. Not having a universal definition for terrorism is problematic in itself, but it becomes more difficult when states must distinguish between piracy, terrorism, and other acts of maritime depredation.

Implications for Ghana’s Maritime Sector

The current situation of increase in reported maritime piracy and armed robbery cases along the Gulf of Guinea should be a major concern to maritime Authorities, as it surely will have negative consequences on the maritime sector in West Africa -- and Ghana, for that matter. 

Apart from the insecurity and high business cost this threat poses to the maritime sector of West African states along the West African coast, there is also the risk of reduced competiveness of shipments to and from West Africa going through the Gulf of Guinea.    Some of the most foreseeable negative impacts of this development on Ghana’s maritime sector would include:

1.     High freight cost

Due to the insecurities along the Gulf of Guinea arising out of the many reported piracy cases, ship owners and charterers would be circumspect in traversing the Gulf of Guinea because of the potential of piracy attacks. Consequently this may increase the cost of freight of shipments to the West African Coast which includes Ghana’s maritime domain.

2.     High insurance premiums

The increasing incidence of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea may also lead to higher insurance premiums -- leading to higher importation costs.  Ship charterers will surely increase their insurance premiums to mitigate any potential effects of pirate attacks.

3. Increase cost of shipments

The cost to the shipper will certainly increase because of the high freight and insurance cost as a result of measures to mitigate the risk of piracy for vessel on voyages along the West African coast and Ghana.

4. Lower vessel calls at the ports.

Increased piracy attacks if unchecked have the potential of eventually increasing the risk profile of the West African Coast, and this will serve as a drawback to vessel calling at our ports -- which would eventually render our ports redundant.

5. Loss of revenue to the state

The maritime sector in Ghana is by far the highest contributor to our revenue base. More than 80% of Ghana’s revenue comes from levies and taxes from imports. Lower vessel calls at our ports would certainly affect our cargo throughput, and hence assure lower revenue generation.

6. Loss of jobs

If the spate of piracy and its attendant consequences are not curbed, it may lead to job-losses in the maritime sector because of the negative effects it will have on the ports’ ability to operate at optimum levels, thereby affecting the downstream maritime sectors in terms of job-losses.

7. Negative impact on the national economy

Loss of revenue resulting from low productivity of the maritime sector may have negative implications on the national economy. There could be shortfalls in revenue, depriving the economy of needed capital for socio-economic activities.

Loss of jobs as indicated above, owing to the reduced port operations and parallel operators, would lead to unemployment and effectively put more stress on the nation’s GDP.

8. High cost of living

The failure of the maritime sector to support the national economy as a result of growing piracy activities may also lead to hardship and higher cost of living for the populace.  Higher cost of imports will lead to higher prices and increased inflation.

9. Reduced competitiveness of Ghanaian shippers

The effects of increased piracy activities in the Gulf of Guinea also affect Ghana’s maritime trade competiveness. High shipment cost, high insurance premiums and general cost of doing business will lead to reduced competitiveness of our shippers.

10. Risk of terrorist activities

Piracy and Maritime Terrorism are difficult to differentiate, and the increasing spate of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea may lead to terrorist organisations infiltrating our maritime waters -- given that there is also a growing level of militancy across West Africa as witnessed in Mali and Nigeria with Islamic fundamentalist groups like Boko Haram etc.

11. Threat to national security

Increasing piracy cases in the Gulf of Guinea have negative implications for the national security of West African states and Ghana.

Increased piracy and armed robbery cases may result in destabilising West African states, including Ghana, leading to insecurity. Maritime infrastructure such as the ports and oil installations could eventually be potential targets for pirates and their extremist associates.

Conclusion

As indicated in respect to the various form and shapes that maritime terrorism or piracy may take, it is clear that when they do happen they have the capacity to cause a great deal of dislocation in supply chains -- with disastrous consequences.

Indeed, a large-scale terrorist or pirate attack at a major port could not only cause widespread death and damage but also paralyse the international maritime trading system, thus causing rapid disruption to global commerce.

In Ghana, a terrorist or pirate attack on any of our maritime facilities and infrastructure is bound to have a telling effect on our economy.  As indicated with respect to the value of the logistics chain, our progress and prosperity is dependent on our international trade.  Cocoa, which remains a major foreign exchange earner, largely relies on imports to feed its production process and has to be exported through the ports to earn vital foreign exchange for the country. 

And so it is with the other foreign exchange-earners such as manganese, bauxite and other non-traditional products.

Government’s Treasury relies on import and export duties for about 70% of its budgetary requirements.  There are also taxes from port operators as well as the providers of ancillary services all through the supply chain, banking, insurance and haulage services.  Thus, any act of maritime violence that affects the supply chain will significantly affect government revenue and hence the provision of social services.

Ghana has invested a lot in its infrastructure both at the ports and off-shore.  Any destruction of these facilities through a terrorist attack or pirate activities would represent a severe setback likely to hinder our attempts at attaining middle-income status through export-led growth.

Any major security breach occasioned by acts of maritime terrorism would affect the level of confidence reposed by the international community in our transport systems, and is likely to be disastrous as it would completely erode our competitive edge and dash our gateway dreams.  

Our ports would become “leprosy ports” where no vessels would want to call.  Where they do not become leprosy ports, there is a great likelihood that premiums for war risks would increase to very devastating effect.

Even though marine cargo insurance covers the risks of terrorism and piracy during the ordinary course of transit, the international insurance market is loath to cover specific acts of terrorism. 

An attack on our maritime infrastructure would cut the flow of goods and services, which would stifle internal trade and lead to hyperinflation.

Therefore, Ghana must lead the way in fighting the growing incidence of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea for its own national interest and that of the rest of West Africa.

Ghana must show leadership at the ECOWAS level in tackling these difficulties because of our particular interest.

In addition, government must equip our navy to be in readiness to repel or deal with any incidence of piracy within our territorial waters. 

This would require investment in equipment and, more importantly, capacity building on the part of our navy personnel.

There must also be close collaboration between naval commands and maritime Authorities among ECOWAS member-states, and intelligence-sharing to deal with this growing spate of piracy.

Ultimately, each sovereign nation must take urgent steps to protect its waters, and the collective objective should be to rid the Gulf of Guinea of piracy and its attendant implications for Ghana’s maritime security and competiveness in international trade.