Tackling the perils of piracy

Contributed by Bloomfield

November 28 2012

Introduction

Piracy bill

Regional agreements

Major challenges

Introduction

'Piracy' is defined as "any illegal act of violence, detention or depredation committed by

the crew or passengers on board a ship traversing the high seas, typically involving

international waters".(1) Since early 2000 maritime piracy has become a major threat to

safety in Nigerian waters(2) as different criminal groups have targeted ships, fishing

trawlers and multinational oil company vessels. They force ships to stop and then

attack the crew on board.(3) Crew members are robbed, assaulted or kidnapped for

ransom,(4) and equipment on board the ship is stolen and sold on the black market.

Thus, piracy and armed robbery at sea pose a substantial threat to maritime activities in

Nigerian waters. A major step towards suppressing the threat of piracy is the creation of

national enabling legislation,(5) incorporating provisions from international conventions

such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea(6) and the Convention for

the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation,(7) which are

vital to the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea.(8)

Another important step is the establishment of regional agreements with some or all of

the states in the Gulf of Guinea region,(9) provided that these states are willing to put

their political and economic differences aside and work together.(10) Piracy is a crime

under customary international law, which affects all countries. It can occur in a state's

territorial waters, neighbouring jurisdictions and on the high seas. Thus, it is up to all

states to take reasonable steps to protect their territory.

Piracy bill

Until recently, piracy was not defined in NIgerian legislation. However, the Piracy and

Other Unlawful Acts at Sea (and Other Related Offences) Act(11) is now before the

National Assembly. This bill will give effect to the international conventions which have

been ratified by Nigeria and provide legal backing to the fight against piracy and other

criminal acts in Nigeria's territorial waters. Under the bill, anyone found guilty of piracy is

liable to be sentenced to up to 21 years' imprisonment, a fine of up to N20 million

($125,000) or both. Anyone found guilty of an unlawful act at sea is liable to

imprisonment for up to 15 years, a fine of N15 million ($ 93,750) or both.(12) This is one

way of halting piracy within Nigeria's waters.

Regional agreements

In situations where pirates start attacking from neighbouring states and then flee to

those waters when pursued, law enforcement officials may find it hard to apprehend,

prosecute and convict offenders. Thus, the next option is to identify the agreements and

instruments which have been established to deal with piracy at the regional level.

According to a report by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), in the first nine months

of 2006 there were 26 reported incidents of piracy and armed robbery off the western

coast of Africa,(13) making it second only to the Malacca Straits as the most dangerous

waters in the world.(14) The coastline of Nigeria's oil-producing states and their inland

waterways are at the heart of this peril.(15) According to the IMB, the security situation in

the area costs the sub-region around $2 billion a year.(16) Due to continued maritime

insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea, investors have shown little interest in the region's

potential as a profitable industry,(17) thereby hindering development of coastal shipping

in the area.(18) The Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA) is the

regional cooperative agreement put in place to ensure efficiency, safety and security in

the Gulf of Guinea.(19) MOWCA has created more policy objectives to improve the

Shipping & Transport - Nigeria

Author

Mojisola Agunbiade

 

deteriorating piracy situation in the sub-region.(20) With regard to safety and security at

sea, it organised an integrated sub-regional coastguard network(21) to implement

conventions relating to the provision of security for passengers and cargo in the sub-

region's coastal waters against piracy, armed robbery and other unlawful acts at sea.

(22) With regard to bilateral agreements, Nigeria and Benin Republic have set up a

combined maritime patrol of their waters. Codenamed Operation Prosperity, this

bilateral cooperation was the first of its kind in the region and is similar to MOWCA's

coastguard network.(23) A joint patrol with Ghana and Togo is expected in order to

increase security and protect the region's waters.(24)

Another effective method of ensuring that piracy is checked at a regional level is to get

MOWCA to instruct its member states to submit their national piracy laws and

regulations for endorsement; this would encourage member states to enact those

laws.(25) If MOWCA encourages states to conclude bilateral agreements among

themselves dealing with the pursuit of pirates, law enforcement officials will be able to

follow perpetrators into neighbouring waters in order to apprehend them.(26) This will

ultimately help Nigeria to control piracy and armed robbery both in and out of its

territorial waters as an active member of MOWCA.

Major challenges

Sometimes the only way to solve a problem is to discover the fundamental cause of that

problem. Therefore, it would be wise to investigate the origins of piracy in Nigeria. For

example, there is overfishing in Nigeria's waters by unlicensed fishing vessels from

Japan, China and Europe, who exploit the marine environment and cost the West

African region about $100 million a year in stolen fish,(27) while the people in one of the

richest fishing areas of the world suffer from poverty and malnutrition.(28) Other fishers

who unable to sail long distances in search of superior fishing grounds fall victim to

poverty and desperation, leading them to survive by carrying out pirate attacks on

unsuspecting sea merchants.(29) It is also believed that in some cases, "unemployed

and desperate fishermen are recruited by organised crime gangs to attack or hijack

merchant vessels".(30) Many Nigerians live on less than $2 a day(31) and almost half

the population is unemployed.(32) Those involved in piracy are often unemployed

sailors and fishermen who have exhausted all other options.(33)

Thus, it is vital that the Nigerian government addresses the real problem of poverty and

unemployment, especially in the coastal areas, as this is the major challenge facing

the country's waters.

For further information on this topic please contact Mojisola Agunbiade at Bloomfield by

telephone (+234 1 791 0702), fax (+234 1 4960 4666) or email (

moji.agunbiade@bloomfield-law.com).

Endnotes

(1) Definition by Churchill and Lowe in Pathak, Monica , "Maritime Violence Piracy at Sea

& Marine Terrorism Today" Windsor Rev Legal & Soc Issues 65 2005 at 66. See also

RR Churchill and AV Lowe, The Law of the Sea, 3rd ed (Manchester: Manchester

University Press 1999 at 210.

(2) IMB, "ICC appeals for national protection against pirates", November 7 2005,

www.icc-ccs.org/index.

(3) Ibid.

(4) IMB, "IMB piracy report notes decline in piracy", April 24 2007, www.icc-ccs.org/index.

(5) "Akhigbe wants maritime security law in Nigeria", The Tide Online, May 1 2008.

Available at www.thetidenews.com.

(6) United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, available at www.imo.org.

(7) Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime

Navigation 1988, available at www.imo.org.

(8) Robert Beckman, "Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Southeast

Asia: The Way Forward" at 319. Available at www.southchinasea.org/docs/Beckman.

(9) Von Gagern, Security Council Report United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern

Ireland. Available at www.zzc.com.

(10) McFarlane, John, "Regional and International Cooperation in Taking Transnational

Crime Terrorism and the Problems of Disrupted states" JFC 2005, 12(4), 301-309 at

304. See also NIMASA, "Summary of discussions and recommendations of procedural

workgroup of the conference on piracy and armed robbery at sea", available at

www.nimasa.gov.ng/confrence-piracy-paper.

(11) Rasheed Bisiriyu, "NIMASA proposes anti-piracy bill", available at

www.punchng.com.

(12) The Piracy and Other Unlawful Acts at Sea (And Other Related Offences) Bill.

(13) Ameachi Chibuike, "Fundamental causes of maritime insecurity", The Tide Online

May 2008. Available at www.legaloil.com.

(14) Ibid.

(15) Ibid.

(16) Freedom C Onuoha, "Piracy and Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea", available

at www.studies.aljezeera.net. See also Raymond Gilpin, "Enhancing Maritime Security

in the Gulf of Guinea: Strategic insights, Volume VI Issue 1 January 2007. Center for

Contemporary Conflict", available at www.ccc.edu.

(17) Ibid.

(18) Ibid

(19) Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa, www.mowca.org.

(20) Ibid.

(21) Ibid.

(22) Ibid.

(23) Supra at 16.

(24) Freedom C Onuoha, "Piracy and Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea", available

at www.studies.aljezeera.net.

(25) Association of Southeast Asian Nations, "Overview", available at

www.aseansec.org/5616.htm.

(26) Ibid.

(27) "Robbing West Africa", Greenpeace, available at www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns. (28) Ibid.

(29) Liss, Carolin, "The roots of piracy in Southeast Asia", research paper conducted for

2006 PhD thesis. Available at www.globalcollab.org/Nautilus.

(30) Ibid.

(31) Ibid.

(32) "Robbing West Africa", Greenpeace, available at

www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns.

(33) Ibid.

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