Ghana and the United Kingdom (UK) are collaborating to increase their levels of activities in the Gulf of Guinea to deal with threats of piracy.
In line with this, the Ghana Navy and the Royal Navy of the UK are deepening cooperation to ensure the Gulf of Guinea is secure and safe for vessels to boost trading and economic activities.
This was made known by the UK Minister of Armed Forces, Mr. James Heappey, in an interview. He was in Ghana as part of a regional tour to, among other concerns, discuss issues of global security, particularly with regard to piracy and extremist activities.
There are about 1,500 fishing vessels, tankers and cargo ships that navigate the Gulf of Guinea on a daily basis, a European Union maritime safety fact sheet has indicated.
For more than a decade, the International Maritime Bureau has been tracking piracy incidents in the gulf, and last year, it realised the region accounted for 95 percent of all kidnappings at sea, with a record 130 crew members kidnapped during 22 separate incidents.
