EU, West African Countries Partner on Counterpiracy

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

The European Union announced plans to increase security efforts in the Gulf of Guinea, the West African maritime region that has become a global piracy hot spot.

The new measures will not include sending warships to the region, a move that helped reduce pirate attacks off East Africa, said German Rear Adm. Jurgen Ehle, who heads a European Union (EU) military working group for West Africa.

“The EU is developing a Gulf of Guinea strategy,” Ehle said, adding that European leaders would likely finish the document by the end of October.

Speaking to a maritime security conference in Lagos, Nigeria, he said the EU’s efforts will focus on helping improve coordination between regional navies, training and other measures, rather than deploying forces.

The German officer said the focus is on military advice and civilian programs to curb poverty, which is fueling much of the unrest.

The number of attacks in the Gulf of Guinea rose from 39 in 2010 to 53 in 2011 and 62 in 2012, according to the London-based think tank Chatham House. Many attacks have involved tankers hijacked with the aim of stealing fuel cargo for sale on the black market.

Ehle also cited the EU’s interest in curbing the worsening problem of drug trafficking out of West African ports, as well as combating illegal fishing. Ehle emphasized the success of international patrols involving the EU, NATO and China in East Africa and the Gulf of Aden, where mostly Somali pirates disrupted shipping.