LAGOS, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria on Tuesday pledged to provide logistics and formulate policies that would sustain the fight against piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, said an official with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

Bashir Jamoh, director-general of the NIMASA, made the pledge at a forum on regional marine collaboration in the Gulf of Guinea in Abuja, Nigeria's capital.

Jamoh said that in sustaining piracy's decline, collaboration was of essence among countries in west Africa so that each country's boundaries and limitations would be considered to prevent any form of conflict. He said Nigeria, through the NIMASA and the Nigerian navy, stands ready to continue to provide every necessary support in collaboration with countries in the region and international partners in the fight against piracy.

"No one can easily forget the frequent reports of attacks on ships and the kidnapping of seafarers in the Gulf of Guinea in 2019 and 2020 when they reached their peak," he said, stressing the attacks had negative economic effects on seaborne trade in the region.

He said strengthened cooperation among countries around the Gulf of Guinea and the support from international partners have contributed to the decline of piracy activities in the Gulf of Guinea since 2021, calling for maintaining the current momentum and offering concrete solutions to ensure sustainability in the fight against piracy.

In its annual piracy report released in January 2022, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said the Gulf of Guinea recorded 34 incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery in 2021, a sharp drop from 81 in 2020. It attributed the drop in piracy incidents to the increased presence of international naval vessels and cooperation between regional authorities. Enditem

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