EU Maritime Security Factsheet : The Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is a vast and diverse region stretching from Senegal to Angola, covering approximately 6,000 km of coastline. It is an important shipping zone transporting oil and gas, as well as goods to and from central and southern Africa. On any one day there are around 1,500 fishing vessels, tankers, and cargo ships navigating its waters. Piracy, armed robbery at sea, kidnapping of seafarers, illegal fishing, smuggling and trafficking, and transnational organised crime pose a major threat to maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea and ultimately to the economic development of the entire region. The EU Maritime Security Strategy Action Plan as well as the EU Gulf of Guinea Strategy and Action Plan frame the EU’s response to these challenges.
- EU Maritime Security Policy
1.1. The EU Maritime Security Strategy and the Gulf of Guinea
The EU Maritime Security Strategy Action Plan features a section with a regional focus, with a set of actions dedicated to the Gulf of Guinea.
It includes a call on the EU to continue supporting the implementation of the Gulf of Guinea Strategy and Action Plan, as well as national and regional efforts in the framework of the Yaoundé architecture (see Map).
1.2. The EU Strategy for the Gulf of Guinea
In 2014, the EU adopted an EU Strategy for the Gulf of Guinea to lend support to the objectives of the “Yaoundé Architecture” – the intra-regional commitment between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) as well as the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) signed at the Yaoundé Heads of State Summit in June 2013 to tackle maritime crime in its widest sense.
The EU Gulf of Guinea Action Plan was subsequently launched to support the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Gulf of Guinea. Through the Strategy and Action Plan, the EU aims to support regional efforts to address the many challenges of maritime security and transnational organised crime as part of the EU’s work with West and Central Africa.
As outlined in the Action Plan, the EU works to raise awareness and understanding of the maritime security threat, reinforce organisations working at the regional and national level, strengthen cooperation between national, regional, and international actors, and promote more prosperous and resilient coastal economies and communities.
- Regional Cooperation in the Gulf of Guinea
In 2020, according to the International Maritime Bureau, the Gulf of Guinea saw 84 attacks on ships, with 135 seafarers kidnaped for ransom. The Gulf of Guinea experienced a nearly 50 % increase in kidnapping for ransom between 2018 and 2019, and around 10 % increase between 2019 and 2020. The region now accounts for just over 95 % of all kidnappings for ransom at sea.
To read more : https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/52490/eu-maritime-security-factsheet-gulf-guinea_en
