Impacts Of Piracy On Ships In The Gulf Of Guinea

ABSTRACT

Maritime piracy is an old concept, the history of which can be traced far way back since the time when the human being started using sea as a means of transport. Piracy attacks in the Gulf of Guinea have taken a worrying trend. Unlike the Somali pirates, the pirates in the Gulf of Guinea target the cargoes, especially the oil laden tankers for their cargo. This disruption is impacting negatively on shipping in this sea lane. There are consequences to be suffered due to these pirate attacks on shipping in this region. This study delves into piracy and Maritime Transportation and Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea. The aim of this study is to analyse the impacts of piracy on different economic indicators and measurements with shipping as the vector of maritime transport. The economic indicators such as the liner shipping index, gross domestic product growth rate, imports growth rate, exports as a percentage of gross domestic product, and oil production as oil rents as a percent of gross domestic product. An Input-Output analysis to determine the interdependencies between variables was adopted. A Fixed Effects Model is used to show the relationship between pirate attacks and the countries distance from the Gulf of Guinea. A Correlation Analysis is conducted in respect of the countries and years based on the research question. A Chi Square test is conducted to test the hypotheses.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAGE

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWELDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
• PROBLEM STATEMENT
• AIM/OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
• SCOPE OF THE STUDY
• LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
• RESEARCH QUESTION
• RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
• DEFINITION OF TERMS
• RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
• PROJECT ORGANISATION

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

• OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
• DEFINITION OF MARITIME PIRACY
• GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE OF PIRACY IN WEST AFRICA
• CAUSES OF PIRACY
• CAUSES OF PIRACY IN THE GULF OF GUINEA
• IMPACT OF PIRACY IN THE GULF OF GUINEA STATES
• NATURE OF PIRACY ACTIVITIES IN THE GULF OF GUINEA
• THE CONTROL MEASURES SET TO COMBAT ACTS OF PIRACY IN THE GULF OF GUINEA
• EFFORTS DONE BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
• EFFORT OF INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO FIGHT FOR THE GULF OF GUINEA PIRACY
• REGIONAL EFFORTS PUT FORWARD TO COMBAT PIRACY IN THE GULF OF GUINEA
• HINDRANCE TO EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIES TO COMBAT PIRACY IN THE GULF OF GUINEA

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

• DATA COLLECTION
• VARIABLES JUSTIFICATION
• DESCRIPTIVE STATIS

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULT ANALYSIS

• RESULTS

CHAPTER FIVE

• CONCLUSION
• REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                                            INTRODUCTION

1.1                                               BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Piracy is commonly visualized through images of 18^th century privateers searching for ships projected to have large payouts. The 18^th century privateers were armed with guns, swords, knives, and cannons. Today’s world still has privateers, albeit armed with more advanced weapons, such as automatic weapons and grenades, as well as more advanced ships. Because of the advanced tactics used by modern privateers, there have been headline cases of piracy, especially since the early 2000s. However, piracy was deemed to be a limited problem prior to 2009 and considered to be a lower concern internationally. Common piracy attacks were attributed to small armed groups in territorial seas, such as in the Gulf of Guinea, in touted efforts to protect Somalia fishing resources (Bradford, 2005; Germond, 2011; Gilpin, 2007; Treves, 2009; Yang, Wang, Bonsall, & Fang, 2009). Not only were these areas hunted by armed groups, but also foreign fisherman and individuals dumping waste products in coastal waters. However, there were also problems related to the inefficient and ineffective government, which increased opportunities for piracy. As a result, piracy became more prominent in different locations, as well as increasingly advanced, in part due to technological advancements and in part due to increased boldness by pirates (Treves, 2009).

1.2                                                       PROBLEM STATEMENT

The Gulf of Guinea is strategically important for shipping, with an array of developed ports and a wealth of hydrocarbon deposits that accounted for an estimated 40 percent of Europe’s oil imports in 2013. The importance of this thruway makes the gulf particularly lucrative for criminals, giving them ample vessels to attack. The potential for high profits—along with high unemployment along the coast, weak security and a lack of judicial enforcement of maritime laws in many West African countries—makes the Gulf of Guinea especially attractive for pirates and other criminals.

In the past decade, the strategies and tactics of these criminals have shifted along with the tides of regional and global markets. Much of the activity in West Africa is actually classified as armed robbery at sea, rather than piracy, because most of it takes place inside waters governed by specific nations, whereas piracy by definition takes place in international waters. Because the Gulf of Guinea borders many African countries with sizable oil and gas industries, with Nigeria being the dominant oil producer in the region, oil tankers are often the targets of attacks. Most criminals initially focused on targeting the cargo onboard these ships, including their oil, rather than the crew or the ships themselves. In what is known as oil bunkering, armed robbers would board a cargo ship and siphon oil onto another vessel to be sold on the black market. This study was carried out to order to address the piracy situation, citing security threats.

1.3                                          AIM AND OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

Due to the increasing rates of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, there are increased concerns relating to the impact of these attacks (and attempted) attacks. The aim of this research study is to analyse the impact of piracy on different measurements and economic indicators, such as the liner shipping connectivity index, gross domestic product growth rate, imports growth rate, exports as a percent of gross domestic product, and oil production as oil rents as a percent of gross domestic product. The objectives are:

1. To address piracy situation of Gulf of Guinea
2. To understand the impact of piracy in economy

• To highlight measures that can be use to fight piracy in Gulf of Guinea

1. To highlight effort international community has impute to combat and deter piracy in the Gulf of Guinea

1.4                                                        SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Piracy attacks in the Gulf of Guinea have become increasingly pervasive in recent years. According to the International Maritime Bureau (2015), Nigeria has been the most affected country due to piracy attacks and the most affected area is the Gulf of Guinea. As a result, piracy has a negative impact on maritime transportation and maritime security, particularly in relation to the development of oil production in the area Bowden (2010).

In this study the impact if ship piracy was discussed. The effort of international  community to combat and deter piracy in the Gulf of Guinea as compared to what it has done in regards to Somali piracy was also highlighted. This paper analyzes four variables: the frequency of pirate attacks, the total direct economic cost of piracy in each of the two regions, country placement on the failed state index, and the intensity of the pirate attacks. This paper found that the frequency of attacks and direct economic costs are the primary triggers for the large international response to Somali piracy. State failure as measured within the study was inconclusive and surprisingly, the intensity of the pirate attacks was not a major factor in garnering a substantial international response.

1.5                                                  LIMITATION OF STUDY

As we all know that no human effort to achieve a set of goals goes without difficulties, certain constraints were encountered in the course of carrying out this project and they are as follows:-

1. Difficulty in information collection: I found it too difficult in laying hands of useful information regarding this work and this course me to visit different libraries and internet for solution.
2. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

1.6                                                      SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research work will throw more light on attack that goes on presently in the sea. This study will also be designed to be of immense benefit to all the user of the sea. It will also serve as a guide to whoever that wants to be partaking on a sea journey. Finally, it will also serve as a useful piece of information for both people living close to the sea and users of the sea such as naval officers, civilian, fisher men, traveler etc.

1.7                                                       RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The research questions to be addressed include:

1. To what extent does piracy impact the Gulf of Guinea in relation to the liner shipping connectivity index?
2. To what extent does piracy impact the Gulf of Guinea in relation to gross domestic product growth rate?
3. To what extent does piracy impact the Gulf of Guinea in relation to imports growth rate?
4. To what extent does piracy impact the Gulf of Guinea in relation to exports as a percent of gross domestic product?
5. To what extent does piracy impact the Gulf of Guinea in relation to oil production as oil rents as a percent of gross domestic product?

1.8                                                      RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The research and hypotheses to be addressed include

H₀: Piracy has a significant impact on the Gulf of Guinea in relation to the liner shipping connectivity index.

H₁: Piracy has no impact on the Gulf of Guinea in relation to the liner shipping connectivity index.

H₀: Piracy has a significant impact on the Gulf of Guinea in relation to gross domestic product growth rate.

H₂: Piracy has no impact on the Gulf of Guinea in relation to gross domestic product growth rate.

H₀: Piracy has a significant impact on the Gulf of Guinea in relation to imports growth rate. H₃: Piracy has no impact on the Gulf of Guinea in relation to imports growth rate.

H₀: Piracy has a significant impact on the Gulf of Guinea in relation to exports as a percent of gross domestic product.

H₄: Piracy has no impact on the Gulf of Guinea in relation to exports as a percent of gross domestic product.

H₀: Piracy has a significant impact on the Gulf of Guinea in relation to oil production as oil rents as a percent of gross domestic product.

H₅: Piracy has no impact on the Gulf of Guinea in relation to oil production as oil rents as a Percent of gross domestic product.

1.9                                                       DEFINITION OF TERMS

PIRACY: Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods.

MARITIME: this is the transport of people or goods via waterways.

SHIP: is a large boat for transporting people or goods by sea.

IMPACT: this is a marked effect or influence.

1.10                                           RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In the course of carrying this study, numerous sources were used which most of them are by visiting libraries, consulting journal and news papers and online research which Google was the major source that was used.

1.11                                   PROJECT ORGANISATION

The work is organized as follows: chapter one discuses the introductory part of the work,   chapter two presents the literature review of the study,  chapter three describes the methods applied, chapter four discusses the results of the work, chapter five summarizes the research outcomes and the recommendations.