The Chiefs of Naval Staff from the West African sub-region will gather in Accra for a three-day conference aimed at combining their capabilities and resources to effectively address volatile issues of maritime threats facing Africa’s territorial waters.

The event which forms parts of the second edition of the International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (IMDEC) and expected to come off from Tuesday, July 6-8, 2021 is in response to the increasing incidents of armed attacks on ships within the Gulf of Guinea.

Some 300 delegates from the sub-region as well Europe and Asia will be participating in the event in response to the regional efforts by the Armed Forces to partner to highlight the significance of maritime cooperation.

Maritime experts and stakeholders including the Director of Maritime Headquarters of the United States Naval Forces Europe-Africa, Rear Admiral Ben Reynolds, the Chief of Staff, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, Rear Admiral Nancy Lacore as well as the Head Regional Security Division at the ECOWAS Commission Dr Dieng Abdourahmane will be attending the conference.

It is being organised by the Dubai-based global strategic events management firm, Great Minds Event Management in partnership with the Ghana Navy and will also showcase new technology for the defence sector.

Participating companies from Israel will also be demonstrating their best products and services that could equip the naval and air forces and enhance their defence capabilities at sea.

Attacks

With the African port sector being said to have collectively attracted some $50 billion in public and private investments in 2020 alone, stakeholders are calling for urgent action to address the increasing attacks on ships.

According to the organisers of the program, some 84 attacks on ships occurred in the Gulf of Guinea in 2020 alone with 135 seafarers kidnaped for ransom.

The Marketing Manager of Great Minds, Arni David was of the view that the 2020 kidnappings saw nearly 50 per cent increase in kidnapping for ransom between 2018 and 2019, and around 10 per cent increase between 2019 and 2020.

“The region now accounts for just over 95 percent of all kidnappings for ransom at sea and the increased economic hardship brought about as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic further emboldened reliance on illicit, yet lucrative activities,” Mr David said.

The Gulf of Guinea, he suggested is a vast and diverse region stretching from Senegal to Angola, covering 6,000 kilometres of coastline and remains an important shipping zone for the transportation of oil and gas, as well as goods to and from central and southern Africa, with nearly 1,500 fishing vessels, tankers, and cargo ships navigating through its waters at any given day.

Piracy, armed robbery at sea, kidnapping of seafarers, illegal fishing, smuggling and trafficking, and transnational organised crime, Mr David stressed continue to pose a major threat to maritime security and ultimately to the economic development of the entire region.

Ghana

The Chief of Ghana’s Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Issah Adam Yakubu, commenting on the event expressed worry at what he said were the continual troubling attacks with kidnapping of crew becoming a lucrative business for armed gangs.

Regrettably, he said that the actual and attempted attacks in the region also increased by 34 percent from the 2019 figure of 59 to 79 in the year 2020 despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“These statistics call for urgent and concerted efforts to deal with this menace and that is why I have invited my colleague chiefs of Navy chiefs of Navies and coastguards, other law enforcement agencies, experts, industry players and relevant stakeholders in the maritime domain for us to develop under the theme maritime security and trade the nexus between a secure maritime domain in a developed blue economy,” Rear Admiral Yakubu said.

He remained hopeful that the conference will collectively find innovative ways to curb the rise of criminal activities in the Gulf of Guinea for the benefit of the nations and the people who trade and derive their livelihoods from the sea.

Source: graphic.com.gh