Gulf of Guinea

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Gulf of Guinea
Gulf of Guinea (English).jpg
Gulf of Guinea map showing the chain of islands formed by the Cameroon line of volcanoes
Africa relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Gulf of Guinea
Coordinates 0°0′N0°0′E / 0.000°N 0.000°E / 0.000; 0.000
River sources Niger
Ocean/sea sources Atlantic Ocean
Basin  countries Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola
Surface area2,350,000 km2 (910,000 sq mi)
Islands Bioko, São Tomé, Príncipe, Ilhéu Bom Bom, Ilhéu Caroço, Elobey Grande, Elobey Chico, Annobón, Corisco, Bobowasi

The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. [1] Null Island, defined as the intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude), is in the gulf. [2]

Contents

Among the many rivers that drain into the Gulf of Guinea are the Niger and the Volta. The coastline on the gulf includes the Bight of Benin and the Bight of Bonny.

Name

“Guinea” is thought to have originated from a local name for an area in the region, although the specifics are disputed. Bovill (1995) gives a thorough description: [3]

The name Guinea is usually said to have been a corrupt form of the name Ghana, picked up by the Portuguese in the Maghrib. The present writer finds this unacceptable. The name Guinea has been in use both in the Maghrib and in Europe long before Prince Henry's time. For example, on a map dated about 1320 by the Genoese cartographer Giovanni di Carignano, who got his information about Africa from a fellow-countryman in Sijilmassa [ancient trading city in North Africa], we find Gunuia, and in the Catalan atlas of 1375 as Ginyia. A passage in Leo [Africanus] (vol. III, 822) points to Guinea having been a corrupt form of Jenne [2,000-year-old city in central Mali on Niger river], less famous than Ghana but nevertheless for many centuries famed in the Maghrib as a great market and a seat of learning. The relevant passage reads: "The Kingdom of Ghinea . . . called by the merchants of our nation Gheneoa, by the natural inhabitants thereof Genni and by the Portugals and other people of Europe Ghinea." But it seems more probable that Guinea derives from aguinaou, the Berber for Negro. Marrakech [city in southeastern Morocco] has a gate, built in the twelfth century, called the Bab Aguinaou, the Gate of the Negro (Delafosse, Haut-Sénégal-Niger, II, 277-278). The modern application of the name Guinea to the coast dates only from 1481. In that year the Portuguese built a fort, São Jorge da Mina (modern day Elmina), on the Gold Coast region, and their king, John II, was permitted by the Pope [Sixtus II or Innocent VIII] to style himself Lord of Guinea, a title that survived until the recent extinction of the monarchy.

The name "Guinea" was also previously applied to the south coast of West Africa (north of the Gulf of Guinea), which became known as "Upper Guinea", and to the west coast of Southern Africa (to the east), which became known as "Lower Guinea".[ citation needed ]

Today, the word "Guinea" is found in the names of three countries in Africa (Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Equatorial Guinea), and in one country in Melanesia (New Guinea).

Geography

The main river dispensing its waters in the gulf is the Niger River.

Different definitions of the geographic limits of the Gulf of Guinea are given; the International Hydrographic Organization defines the southwest extent of the Gulf of Guinea as "B line from Cap Lopez ( 0°37′S8°43′E / 0.617°S 8.717°E / -0.617; 8.717 ), in Gabon, northwestward to Ihléu Gago Coutinho (Ilhéu das Rôlas) ( 0°01′S6°32′E / 0.017°S 6.533°E / -0.017; 6.533 ); and thence a line from Ihléu Gago Coutinho northwestward to Cape Palmas ( 4°22′N7°44′W / 4.367°N 7.733°W / 4.367; -7.733 ), in Liberia. [1]

Islands in the Gulf of Guinea

The Gulf of Guinea contains a number of islands, the largest of which are in a southwest-northeast chain, forming part of the Cameroon line of volcanoes.

Annobón, also known as Pagalu or Pigalua, is an island that is part of Equatorial Guinea.

Bobowasi Island is an island off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea that is part of the Western Region of Ghana.

Bioko is an island off the Ambazonian region of Cameroon in the Gulf of Guinea under the sovereignty of Equatorial Guinea.

Corisco is an island belonging to Equatorial Guinea.

Elobey Grande and Elobey Chico are two small islands belonging to Equatorial Guinea.

São Tomé and Príncipe (officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe) is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea that became independent from Portugal in 1975. It is located off the western equatorial coast of Africa and consists of two islands, São Tomé and Príncipe. They are located about 140 kilometres (87 mi) apart and about 250 and 225 kilometres (155 and 140 mi), respectively, off the northwestern coast of Gabon. Both islands are part of an extinct volcanic mountain range. São Tomé, the sizeable southern island, is situated just north of the Equator.

Maritime security

Maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea consists of 18 sovereign states. [4] . Where most of the maritime security issues in the Gulf of Guinea have terrible consequences for the shipping industry.

Multiple institutional mandates address maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea: the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). [4] Additionally, maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea is also addressed by the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC). [4]

There has been a 60% population growth in the Gulf of Guinea since 2000, which consequently leads people to resort to hijacking, kidnapping, robberies and more due to food shortages. [5] .

Climate change has become a huge problem in the Gulf of Guinea and as a consequence has different Maritime security issues become more pressing. These maritime security crimes are characterized not only by piracy but by a myriad of maritime crimes despite piracy often dominating the conversation on maritime security. The other notable crimes in the Gulf of Guinea are illegal fishing, kidnapping for ransom, drug trafficking and oil-bunkering. [6] Illegal oil-bunkering consists of the attacking of vessels transporting oil and transferring the oil to the thieves’ own vessel, after which the oil is sold in local and international markets. [4] Illegal oil bunkering at sea is mainly prevalent in the Nigerian waters.

Kidnapping for ransom is also one of the most prevalent maritime crimes in the region. Between 2018 and 2019, the number of crew members that were kidnapped in the Gulf of Guinea increased by 50%, leading the region to account for 90% of global kidnappings at sea. [7] About 92% of the hostage-taking and 73% of kidnappings happening in and around Africa are happening in the Gulf of Guinea [8] . There is also a large issue of drug trafficking in the Gulf of Guinea and the region has over the last few years become a haven for drug trafficking mainly from South America into Europe [9] .

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU)

IUU fishing also known as Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing has become a severe problem in the Gulf of Guinea. In 2000 were there reports of 212,800 tons of fish caught and in 2012 has this number increased by 9 percent to 232,200 tons [10] . IUU consequently creates spillover problems to the social, economic and environmental life in the Gulf of Guinea [11] . It presents a direct threat to the national security of the coastal states in the Gulf of Guinea [12] . IUU has been linked to multiple issues and forms of organized crime. Some of these crimes are arms trafficking, drug smuggling, forced labor, piracy and more [13] .

IUU depletes fish stocks in the area and causes issues for fishermen and the local population's food security. One of the main issues of IUU is that a lot of the fish that is caught in the Gulf of Guinea is fish that is unreported when caught. This causes overfishing and overfishing causes depleting fisheries all around the region. IUU fishing also becomes a severe issue in the region because it allows fishermen to fish in vessels that are not nationally regulated or managed. Furthermore, can these vessels threaten people's human security due to poor working conditions and poorly regulated boats. Many of the IUU fishing boats are old, rusty and often in poor condition.

Both small-scale and large-scale fisheries often do illegal fishing in the Gulf of Guinea In the Gulf of Guinea can we see severe blue crime spillover effects of IUU through both piracy and human trafficking. Economic activity in the Gulf of Guinea has given rise to maritime piracy in the region [14] . It is evident that in the Gulf of Guinea is there more piracy, forced labor and human trafficking as a consequence of IUU fishing, depleting fish stock and large competition of resources and food.

Further Blue Crime Consequences of IUU

There have been many reports of forced labor at sea in the Gulf of Guinea on illegal fishing boats. The EJF [15] reports that through their studies they found that some fishermen and immigrant workers have been forced to work on fishing boats in the Gulf of Guinea for months at a time without access to land. Some of these workers were deployed to sea each day in canoes and in the night where they were forced to return to the mother ship to unload fish. Many illegal fishing boats have operated like such for many years and the workers are often contracted for two years at a time, with no chance to visit home or at times even land in general.

Many workers are paid in boxes of what the EJF called “trash fish" -caught as by-catch- and then the way they would earn money was to further sell this fish. Other reports of forced labor on illegal fishing boats report poor and non-existent safety equipment. Little to no hygiene standards, poor accommodation standards, and very little food [16] .

Even though piracy in the gulf of Guinea has dropped since its peak in 2020, is it still a pressing issue in the region [17] . Many pirate groups in the Gulf of Guinea often recruit unemployed and underemployed fishermen. This has become highly lucrative due to poor wages and little to no money going around. Often have these local fishermen been lured into the prospect of quick easy money and as a result sold their fishing boats to other pirates in the Gulf [18] . Depliting fishing stocks encourages fishermen to engage in piracy and more violence in the region is occurring.

See also

Related Research Articles

The Armed Forces of São Tomé and Príncipe are the armed forces of the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe, off the coast of West Africa. The islands' military consists of a small land and naval contingent, with a limited budget. Sitting adjacent to strategically important sea lane of communication in the Gulf of Guinea, due to recent concerns about regional security issues including security for oil tankers transiting the area, the US military and other foreign navies have increased their engagement with the FASTP, providing the country with assistance in the form of construction projects and training missions, as well as integration into international information and intelligence sharing programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annobón</span> Southern island province of Equatorial Guinea

Annobón is a province of Equatorial Guinea. The province consists of the island of Annobón and its associated islets in the Gulf of Guinea. Annobón is the smallest province of Equatorial Guinea in both area and population. According to the 2015 census, Annobón had 5,314 inhabitants, a small population increase from the 5,008 registered by the 2001 census. The official language is Spanish but most of the inhabitants speak a creole form of Portuguese. The island's main industries are fishing and forestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing</span>

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries.

Maritime security is an umbrella term informed to classify issues in the maritime domain that are often related to national security, marine environment, economic development, and human security. This includes the world's oceans but also regional seas, territorial waters, rivers and ports, where seas act as a “stage for geopolitical power projection, interstate warfare or militarized disputes, as a source of specific threats such as piracy, or as a connector between states that enables various phenomena from colonialism to globalization”. The theoretical concept of maritime security has evolved from a narrow perspective of national naval power projection towards a buzzword that incorporates many interconnected sub-fields. The definition of the term maritime security varies and while no internationally agreed definition exists, the term has often been used to describe both existing, and new regional and international challenges to the maritime domain. The buzzword character enables international actors to discuss these new challenges without the need to define every potentially contested aspect of it. Maritime security is of increasing concern to the global shipping industry, where there are a wide range of security threats and challenges. Some of the practical issues clustered under the term of maritime security include crimes such as piracy, armed robbery at sea, trafficking of people and illicit goods, illegal fishing or marine pollution. War, warlike activity, maritime terrorism and interstate rivalry are also maritime security concerns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea</span>

Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea affects a number of countries in West Africa as well as the wider international community. By 2011, it had become an issue of global concern. Pirates in the Gulf of Guinea are often part of heavily armed criminal enterprises, who employ violent methods to steal oil cargo. In 2012, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), Oceans Beyond Piracy and the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Program reported that the number of vessels attacks by West African pirates had reached a world high, with 966 seafarers attacked during the year. According to the Control Risks Group, pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea had by mid-November 2013 maintained a steady level of around 100 attempted hijackings in the year, a close second behind the Strait of Malacca in Southeast Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Africa Partnership Station</span>

Africa Partnership Station is an international initiative developed by United States Naval Forces Europe-Africa, which works cooperatively with U.S. and international partners to improve maritime safety and security in Africa as part of US Africa Command's Security Cooperation program.

Piracy off the coast of Somalia occurs in the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel, and Somali Sea, in Somali territorial waters and other surrounding places and has a long troubled history with different perspectives from different communities. It was initially a threat to international fishing vessels during the early 2000s, only to rapidly escalate and expand to international shipping during the War in Somalia (2006–2009).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piracy in the 21st century</span> Aspect of modern history

Piracy in the 21st century has taken place in a number of waters around the world, including the Gulf of Guinea, Strait of Malacca, Sulu and Celebes Seas, Indian Ocean, and Falcon Lake.

Abshir Abdillahi, known as "Boyah" is a Somali pirate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-piracy measures in Somalia</span> Anti-piracy in international waters near Somalia

Piracy in Somalia has been a threat to international shipping since the beginning of the country's civil war in the early 1990s. Since 2005, many international organizations have expressed concern over the rise in acts of piracy. Piracy impeded the delivery of shipments and increased shipping expenses, costing an estimated $6.6 to $6.9 billion a year in global trade in 2011 according to Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Directorate General of Marine and Fisheries Resources Surveillance</span> Law enforcement agency

The Directorate General of Marine and Fisheries Resources Surveillance is a government agency under the management of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of Indonesia. Formally established on 23 November 2000 according to Presidential Decree No. 165/2000, the PSDKP is the agency responsible for supervising the marine and fishery resources of the Republic of Indonesia. The main mission of PSDKP is the prevention of Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in Indonesian waters, which has caused a substantial loss for Indonesia's fishing industry. In its mission to prevent illegal fishing, PSDKP has conducted joint-operations with the Indonesian Navy, Water Police, Sea and Coast Guard, the Maritime Security Agency and Customs. PSDKP is however is not associated with these agencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piracy in Venezuela</span>

Piracy off the coast of Venezuela increased during the crisis in Venezuela. The situation has been compared to piracy off the coast of Somalia, which was also caused by economic collapse. As Venezuelans grow more desperate, fears of increasing incidents and range of piracy have been reported. Venezuelan pirates often smuggle weapons, drugs and sex trafficking victims. Authorities have also been involved in piracy near the coast of Venezuela.

Transshipment or transhipment at sea is done by transferring goods such as cargo, personnel, and equipment from one ship to another. It is a common practice in global fisheries and typically takes place between smaller fishing vessels and large specialized refrigerated transport vessels, also referred to as “reefers” that onload catch and deliver supplies if necessary.

As a practice of piracy, petro-piracy, also sometimes called oil piracy or petrol piracy, is defined as “illegal taking of oil after vessel hijacks, which are sometimes executed with the use of motorships” with huge potential financial rewards. Petro-piracy is mostly a practice that is connected to and originates from piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, but examples of petro-piracy outside of the Gulf of Guinea is not uncommon. At least since 2008, the Gulf of Guinea has been home to pirates practicing petro-piracy by targeting the region's extensive oil industry. Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea has risen in the last years to become the hot spot of piracy globally with 76 actual and attempted attacks, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). Most of these attacks in the Gulf of Guinea take place in inland or territorial waters, but recently pirates have been proven to venture further out to sea, e.g. crew members were kidnapped from the tanker David B. 220 nautical miles outside of Benin. Pirates most often targets vessels carrying oil products and kidnappings of crew for ransom. IMB reports that countries in the Gulf of Guinea, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Togo, Congo, and, especially, Nigeria, have experienced petro-piracy and kidnappings of crew as the most common trends of piracy attacks in the Gulf of Guinea.

Piracy kidnappings occur during piracy, when people are kidnapped by pirates or taken hostage. Article 1 of the United Nations International Convention against the Taking of Hostages defines a hostage-taker as "any person who seizes or detains and threatens to kill, to injure, or to continue to detain another person in order to compel a third party namely, a State, an international intergovernmental organization, a natural or Juridical person, or a group of people, to do or abstain from doing any act as an explicit or implicit condition tor the release of the hostage commits the offense of taking of hostages ("hostage-taking") within the meaning of this convention." Kidnappers often try to obtain the largest financial reward possible in exchange for hostages, but piracy kidnappings can also be politically motivated.

The European Union is one of the main anti-piracy actors in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG). At any one time, the EU has on average 30 owned or flagged vessels in the region. The piracy in the Gulf of Guinea is therefore a threat towards the EU, and as a response the organization adopted its strategy on the Gulf of Guinea in March 2014. The Strategy on the Gulf of Guinea is a 12-page document with the scope of the problem, what have previously been done, responses and the way forward with four strategic objectives. The EU's overriding objective are:

  1. to build a common understanding in regional countries of the threat and its long-term effect and the need to address the piracy issues among the regional and international community.
  2. to help the governments in the region to ensure maritime awareness, security and the rule of law by building robust institutions and maritime administrations.
  3. to assist vulnerable economies to withstand criminal or violent activity and to build resilience to communities.
  4. to strengthen cooperation between the countries and organizations on the region to fight threats both on land and sea.
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piracy networks in Nigeria</span>

Piracy network in Nigeria refers to the organisation of actors involved in the sophisticated, complex piracy activities: piracy kidnappings and petro-piracy. The most organised piracy activities in the Gulf of Guinea takes place in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. A large number of both non-state and formal state actors are involved in a piracy operation, indicating a vast social network. As revealed by the arrested pirate Bless Nube “we do not work in isolation. We have a network of ministries’ workers. What they do is to give us information on the location and content of the vessels to be hijacked. After furnishing us with the information, they would make part payment, and after the hijack, they would pay us the balance.” Pirate groups draw on the pirate network to gain access to actors who provide security, economic resources, and support to pirate operations. This includes government officials, businesspeople, armed groups, and transnational mafia.

Seychelles is a small island nation with a vast maritime territory, consisting of 115 islands and a 137 million square kilometer Exclusive Economic Zone. The prevalence of drugs in the country is high and the country is experiencing a heroin epidemic, with an equivalent to 10% of the working force using heroin in 2019. Due to its location along a major trafficking route, drugs can easily be trafficked by sea to Seychelles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean region</span> Military unit

The Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) is a regional maritime security centre hosted by the Indian Navy. Launched in December 2018, the centre works towards enhancing maritime security and safety in the Indian Ocean. Currently, the IFC-IOR has International Liaison Officers (ILO) from 12 partner nations. It also has more than 65 international working-level linkages with nations and multi-national/ maritime security centres.

Fisheries crime describes the wide range of criminal activity that is common along the entire value chain of the fishing sector. It often occurs in conjunction with Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), but next to illegal fish extraction include for example corruption, document fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, kidnapping, human trafficking and drug trafficking. The issue recently received increased attention in the UN, Interpol, and several other international bodies.

References

  1. 1 2 "Limits of Oceans and Seas, Draft 4th Edition: North Atlantic Ocean and its Sub-Divisions". International Hydrographic Organization. 2002. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  2. ↑ Rosenberg, Matt (30 January 2020). "Where Do the Prime Meridian and the Equator Intersect?". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  3. ↑ Hale, Thomas A. "From the Griot of Roots to the Roots of Griot: A New Look at the Origins of a Controversial African Term for Bard" (PDF). Oral Tradition. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-02. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Jessica., Larsen. Reconciling international priorities with local needs DENMARK AS A NEW SECURITY ACTOR IN THE GULF OF GUINEA. Danish Institute for International Studies. OCLC   1152018425. Archived from the original on 2022-02-12. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  5. ↑ Denton, Ginger L.; Harris, Jonathan R. (2021-11-02). "The Impact of Illegal Fishing on Maritime Piracy: Evidence from West Africa". Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. 44 (11): 938–957. doi:10.1080/1057610X.2019.1594660. ISSN   1057-610X.
  6. ↑ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. (2018). Gulf of Guinea Maritime Security Programme, 2019-2021. Copenhagen: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.
  7. ↑ Nicoloso, Giulia (2020-07-17). "Stark increase in kidnapping at sea in the Gulf of Guinea". Critical Maritime Routes. Archived from the original on 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
  8. ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341525368_MARITIME_INSECURITY_IN_THE_GULF_OF_GUINEA_GoG_AND_THE_QUEST_FOR_SECURITY_INTELLIGENCE_DEPLOYMENT_IN_COMBATING_THE_MENACE
  9. ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341525368_MARITIME_INSECURITY_IN_THE_GULF_OF_GUINEA_GoG_AND_THE_QUEST_FOR_SECURITY_INTELLIGENCE_DEPLOYMENT_IN_COMBATING_THE_MENACE
  10. ↑ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1057610X.2019.1594660
  11. ↑ https://www.nupi.no/content/pdf_preview/25964/file/rapport-lucas-oliveira.pdf
  12. ↑ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19392206.2020.1724432
  13. ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341525368_MARITIME_INSECURITY_IN_THE_GULF_OF_GUINEA_GoG_AND_THE_QUEST_FOR_SECURITY_INTELLIGENCE_DEPLOYMENT_IN_COMBATING_THE_MENACE
  14. ↑ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1057610X.2019.1594660
  15. ↑ https://ejfoundation.org/reports/pirate-fishing-exposed-report
  16. ↑ https://ejfoundation.org/reports/pirate-fishing-exposed-report
  17. ↑ https://www.diis.dk/en/research/counter-piracy-in-the-gulf-of-guinea-must-not-overlook-local-struggle-and-suffering
  18. ↑ https://doi.org/10.1080/10246029.2022.2049329
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