Surge in piracy off West Africa in 2018: maritime watchdog

Pirate attacks rose worldwide in 2018 due to a surge off West Africa, a maritime watchdog said Wednesday, calling for increased international cooperation to halt the spate of hijackings and kidnappings.

There were 201 recorded incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery last year, up from 180 in 2017, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said in its annual piracy report.

"There is an urgent need for increased cooperation and sharing of intelligence between the Gulf of Guinea's littoral states so that effective action can be taken against pirates," an bureau spokesman said.

Reports of attacks in waters between the Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo more than doubled, accounting for all six hijackings worldwide, 13 of 18 ships fired upon, and the vast majority of kidnap-for-ransom cases, the Kuala Lumpur-based IMB said.

The last quarter of 2018 saw a significant spike in violence off West Africa, with vessels boarded by pirates well outside territorial waters, and ...