Gulf of Guinea - Threat Increase

Overview

Description: MDAT-GoG have released the following report:

Information from military source indicate an armed group from Rivers State, Nigeria, are planning a piracy attack against vessels in area D (especially Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea) since the 1st of September.

It is likely the attack will occur at low tide, when the monitoring units are missing. Therefore, you are requested to be on maximum alert, to increase vigilance and surveillance and intensify intelligence both on the water and in the port. Systematically identify and search all suspicious boats coming from or leaving Nigeria. Report any suspicions and take into account any diversion.

Assessment

Within 2020 the concentration of incidents within Zone D had remained focused within the northern waters in the vicinity of Douala & Limbe (Cameroon), and Malabo & Luba (Equatorial Guinea). It is assessed as highly likely that any incident forthcoming would continue to follow this trend and occur within this region. Incident reporting within Zone D has mirrored that of the wider West Africa with partial increases in reports of serious maritime crime and piracy occurring across the region.

Throughout 2020 there has been an increasing trend in incident reporting concerning serious incidents of piracy and maritime crime, beyond the traditional heartland of Nigerian waters. This trend looks set to continue with few effective domestic naval resources able to be deployed beyond the immediate port and anchorage areas.