Gulf of Guinea piracy worsens

Maritime regulators and the shipping industry issue warnings over escalating frequency, severity and range of pirate attacks

The problem of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea continues to worsen, prompting the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) to issue fresh warnings and convene a safety committee meeting for later this year. But amid the escalation, the IMO and maritime insurers continue to issue the same official guidance for shipowners and operators, limiting the impact on shipping.      In the latest significant incident, container ship the Mozart was attacked in late January around 98 nautical miles (nm) northwest of Sao Tome and Principe, with the death of one crew member and the abduction of 15 more. And there have been further incidents since, including an LNG tanker being fired upon and a refined p