Nigeria suffered 41 piracy attacks in 2017 —NIMASA

NIGERIA recorded 41 piracy attacks on vessels calling at her ports in the whole of 2017, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) stated in its ‘Nigeria’s Maritime Industry Forecast 2018-2019. This is even as the agency said the nation suffered 135 piracy attacks between 2015 and 2017.

According to data sourced from the agency’s industry forecast document, the highest number of attacks occurred in the last quarter of 2017, with 16 attacks occurring within the nation’s waters.

“In the first quarter of 2017, nine reported attacks occurred within Nigerian waters. Out of the nine reported attacks, three were successful while the remaining six attacks were not successful. In the second quarter of 2017, eight vessels were attacked within Nigerian waters. Out of the eight vessels attacked, four were successful and the other four attacks were unsuccessful.

“Also in the third quarter of 2017, eight vessels were attacked and four were successful while another four were unsuccessful. In the last quarter of 2017, 16 vessels suffered piracy attacks within Nigerian waters and six of those attacks were successful, while the remaining 10 attacks were unsuccessful.

“For vessel movement in 2016, the nation recorded the highest number of piracy attacks within her waters as 77 attacks were recorded on vessels in the year under review. In the first quarter of 2016, 27 vessels were attacked by pirates and 14 of those attacks were successful, while the remaining 13 attacks were unsuccessful.

‘In the second quarter of 2016, another 27 vessels were attacked, and this time, 17 of those attacks were successful while the remaining 10 attacks were not successful. In the third quarter of 2016, there was a reduction of piracy attacks within the nation’s waterways as only eight vessels were attacked, and only four of those attacks were successful.

“In the last quarter of 2016, piracy on waters within Nigerian waters rose again as 15 vessels suffered attacks at different locations within the nation’s waterways. Out of the 15 attacks in the last quarter of 2016, five were successful while 10 were not successful.

“For 2015, eight vessels were attacked in the first quarter of the year under review and five of those attacks were successful, and the remaining three attacks were not successful. In the second quarter of 2015, five piracy attacks occurred within Nigerian waters, and one out of the five was successful, while the remaining four attacks were not successful.

“There was no recorded piracy attack for the third quarter of 2015. However, piracy activities resumed in the last quarter of the year under review with four different attacks on vessels within the nation’s waters. Two out of the four attacks were successful while the remaining two were unsuccessful, thereby bringing to a total of 135 piracy attacks on vessels within Nigerian waters between 2015 and 2017,” information from Nigeria’s Maritime Industry Forecast 2018-2019 revealed.