WEST AFRICA …. PIRACY BY LAND AND SEA

So we left Namibia …. Leaving behind South West Africa and heading north into West Africa. So back over the equator for the 4’th time …. Again entering an area we know nothing about … we don’t know anyone that has been here …. So we are truly in foreign territory.

We are making 6 stops in West Africa … and this is where our trusty “Pirate Protectors” come into the picture. ( The four guys that were on before …. joined the ship again in South Africa to “protect us” … we hope … while traveling the coast of West Africa. ) You do sort of scratch your head as to why we would be going through places that require “armed security” … but at this point to get back home on a boat there is no easy answer. Either this route or tangling with the Houthis in the Red Sea, or I suppose carrying the ship over land 😜 … I guess this is the best option.

This time around … ship mgmt seemed to be taking a more “dialed up” approach to “Piracy Protection.” On the east side we were aware security was on board because of gossip …confirmed by a couple of new faces wondering around the ship. ( The eye patch, tattoos, youth and big muscles was a bit of a giveaway ) This time was different … we were made aware of our added protection and asked to prepare.

So with the “dialed up”attention on the west coast … I was curious … it turns out this area has much more serious maritime issues than I ever realized. It is known as the “Global Hotspot in Piracy“ though this year the Houthis may change that.

The Gulf of Guinea … has been the global epicenter of maritime crime and piracy. It is a giant “maritime zone” … 888,000 Square Miles … 3700 miles of coastline and 20 commercial ports. The area, rich in minerals and fisheries is an important shipping zone … transporting oil, gas, and other minerals … with over 1500 fishing vessels, tankers and cargo ships traveling these waters daily. ( No wonder there are so many vessels at sea waiting to get into port.)

Piracy … including armed robbery and kidnapping have been on the increase here in recent years …. kidnappings up 40% … Fuel and crude oil theft have become a big problem … particularly in Nigeria … the center of the Gulf of Guinea. Nigeria provides over 2/3’rd’s of the oil to the rest of Africa but 120,000 barrels are stolen each day … almost 6% of their output. Illegal and unregulated fishing is the other big problem … impacting world supply.

It turns out piracy on the east coast of Africa is different from piracy on the west. The Somali pirates of the east coast … are prone to taking hostages for ransom …. ( For those old enough to remember … Leon Klinghoffer a US citizen … captured by pirates in the 70’s and thrown overboard ). Pirates on the west coast are typically looking to get oil … “petro-piracy.” These attacks have ended with crew members injured or killed … they hijack the entire vessel and hold the people for hostage … I cannot imagine anyone paying ransom for 350 old people. So if they take our boat THEY could be out of luck.

So what’s driving up the illegal activity? The Northwest African countries that border the Gulf of Guinea struggle with some of the highest unemployment, poverty, illiteracy and political instability in the world. Add to it … regional corruption and lack of strong government … a “recipe for crime.” Typically these pirates come from poor communities and don’t have much to lose … punishment tends to be lax with weak law enforcement. So the area has become a hotbed of crime.

So it is time for our ship to prepare for potential battle. Our dear friend Ron who has been tracking our boat … brought to our attention that the navigation system he uses to track our ship now says “armed security on board” …. an added descriptor for this segment. I assume the idea is to broadcast to all “pirates out there thinking of making a move” … that they some AK-47’s would await them … who knows if that is true …. could be just “Macho Talk.” The idea is a good one IF these “pirates” can ACTUALLY READ ( Illiteracy is a big issue here ) or UNDERSTAND ENGLISH. 🤷🏼‍♀️

So the ship had a special drill to review “Pirate Protocol.” The crew had their role and we had ours. I am not sure what they did but we were given instructions to keep our blackout drapes closed when the sun went down … use minimal light at night and lay down on the floor if there is a “situation.” I guess laying on the floor is to dodge the bullets. 😂 I know it is not a joking mater but if this group of passengers gets on the floor they will not be getting up … so for those still alive after the intrusion it would be interesting to see the crew running around trying to get 350 people off the floor. Thank god the crew is young.

The rest of the ship … the windowed areas have shades or drapes pulled … even during the day … the gym and all other public spaces are darkened. So no natural light … if you’re nocturnal it’s great …. For the rest of us it’s fun for the first day … but 10 days later … the excitement wears a little thin, We are not allowed on the decks at night … including the dining room … our “Piracy Protecters” are busy to … walking the bridge on the lookout for “suspicious boats” 24/7.

The whole thing sounds like something out of a movie …. We are some “super sleuth” ship trying to travel the coast of west Africa without anyone seeeing us. Seems to me at 590’ in length it is hard to hide … but I suppose if we were attacked I wouldn’t think it was to funny.

So our land tours were not much better … we had some added company there as well … “Piracy Protectors of the Land” A fancy way of saying a “police escort” … a police car in front of the tour bus and an ambulance ( no idea why an ambulance ) in the back. Gun bearing Militia in both vehicles.

Not sure if the ambulance was there so that if someone got shot they could take them for medical treatment or if the country only owned one police car … and the ambulance was the next best thing. Both drove with their sirens on leading and tailing us through town. You would think we were some kind of “important dignitaries”rather than some old cruise ship tourists checking the place out. A bit embarrassing but perhaps a necessity.

… that was our intro to West Africa. But what has been more surprising is each of these countries tell us “tourism” is an important part of their economy … I keep scratching my head … who would want to bring “armed militia” on their vacation.

So that’s the beginning of our West African Voyage …. MORE TO FOLLOW