Pirates are expanding their activities into West Africa, according to a United Nations report released Saturday. Previously, most pirate activity occurred around the Horn of Africa, and especially Somalia on the continent’s east coast.
In particular, pirates now have taken control over coastal areas in Benin, the small nation that borders Nigeria and Togo, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.
The executive director of the organization, Yury Fedotov, noted that the increased activities near Benin “are worrying developments that we should take seriously,” adding that the emergence of pirates may point to growing instability among Benin’s government and security forces.
Coinciding with the release of the report, pirates released a Cyprus-flagged tanker that was seized off the coast of Benin on Saturday. There were no injuries or deaths, according to Spanish media.
Pirates, who normally operate in the Indian Ocean, may be lured to the west coast due to its reserves of oil, minerals, and metals. Piracy in the region “is not on the scale of that off East Africa, but more attacks in a region ill-equipped to counter the threat could disrupt shipping and investment,” the report said.
During the first half of 2011, pirate attacks and hostage situations sharply rose from the same time period during the previous year. The International Maritime Bureau in July said at least 266 pirate attacks were recorded, up from 196 in 2010.
For the first time this June, pirates braved the monsoon season in the Indian Ocean, which creates rough waters, the Bureau report noted.