# West African Piracy



## Binnacle (Jul 22, 2005)

Take a boat ride out from the Nigerian port of Lagos and it is easy to see why piracy, sea robbery and other forms of maritime crime are such a problem. The ocean is swarming with cargo ships, oil tankers, barges and other vessels waiting for permission to enter the overcrowded port.
Great hulks of rusting metal, anchored and sitting low in the water, almost as if they are inviting pirates to sling their ladders over the side and clamber up on board.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30024009


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## LouisB (Dec 23, 2007)

Binnacle said:


> Take a boat ride out from the Nigerian port of Lagos and it is easy to see why piracy, sea robbery and other forms of maritime crime are such a problem. The ocean is swarming with cargo ships, oil tankers, barges and other vessels waiting for permission to enter the overcrowded port.
> Great hulks of rusting metal, anchored and sitting low in the water, almost as if they are inviting pirates to sling their ladders over the side and clamber up on board.
> 
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30024009


It's been like that for decades although obviously making money for someone. It's rumoured that a little 'present' to the right people may expedite berthing or discharge. Normal business methods seemingly.

LouisB (Scribe)


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## OilJiver (Jun 30, 2014)

LouisB said:


> It's been like that for decades .....


Absolutely right. There's nothing new about any of this stuff BBC.


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## cacique (Mar 26, 2005)

LouisB said:


> It's been like that for decades although obviously making money for someone. It's rumoured that a little 'present' to the right people may expedite berthing or discharge. Normal business methods seemingly.
> 
> LouisB (Scribe)


The age-old art of dash.


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## ben27 (Dec 27, 2012)

good daypinnacle.sm.yesterday,18:59.re:west african piracy.a most interesting post,there must be people in high places getting kickbacks.wy not inproove the warfing.get the ships unloaded faster.turn them around send them on there way.regards ben27


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## kypros (Feb 13, 2010)

Spent several trips to west Africa sad to see this poorly organised port facilities could never recall anything like this despite all the west African ports being mad busy at the time,might not be PC to say it but they seem to lack the organisational skills of the old Empire builders so to say,everything went like clockwork with vessels arriving and departing like buses and that was about fifty years ago.KYPROS


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

Not PC but correct, Kypros.

John T


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## Scelerat (Sep 18, 2012)

Why would you imagine that it's not PC to tell the truth? All you would need to say to make any kind of PC response irrelevant would be the word the comment more cleverly. How about "Spent several trips to west Africa in the past and it is sad to see these poorly organised port facilities today. I could never recall anything like this then, despite all the west African ports being mad busy at the time. The current regime seems to lack the organisational skills of those days; everything went like clockwork, with vessels arriving and departing like buses and that was about fifty years ago."
You'll have said the same thing, without giving any PC policeman any opportunity to pounce.


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## kypros (Feb 13, 2010)

You are right scelerat,so accept my apology.KYPROS


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## Scelerat (Sep 18, 2012)

kypros said:


> You are right scelerat,so accept my apology.KYPROS


No need for apologies!


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## RayL (Apr 16, 2008)

OilJiver said:


> Absolutely right. There's nothing new about any of this stuff BBC.


Isn't this a bit over-cynical? Surely the point was that the waiting has been taking place for decades but the piracy (in West African waters at least) is a new phenomenon. Perhaps you owe apologies to the BBC.

All this waiting outside ports must be maddening for shipping companies who are losing money hand and foot as a result.


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## Orbitaman (Oct 5, 2007)

RayL said:


> Isn't this a bit over-cynical? Surely the point was that the waiting has been taking place for decades but the piracy (in West African waters at least) is a new phenomenon. Perhaps you owe apologies to the BBC.
> 
> All this waiting outside ports must be maddening for shipping companies who are losing money hand and foot as a result.


Piracy in West Africa has been going on for decades and is in no way a new phenomenon.

The shipping companies are making it hand over fist on demurrage at these ports, being paid to sit for weeks on end waiting to load/discharge and not having to pay for expensive bunkers is a nice little earner for some owners.


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## OilJiver (Jun 30, 2014)

RayL said:


> Isn't this a bit over-cynical? Surely the point was that the waiting has been taking place for decades but the piracy (in West African waters at least) is a new phenomenon. Perhaps you owe apologies to the BBC.


Have you been down that way in the last 40 years or so Ray?


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## RayL (Apr 16, 2008)

OilJiver said:


> Have you been down that way in the last 40 years or so Ray?


No. Perhaps our media have not been keeping us informed of events in that area of the world. It's all been about the Somali and Far Eastern pirates in my experience. Is it petty theft there or whole ships?


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## Johnny Walker (Mar 27, 2010)

RayL said:


> Isn't this a bit over-cynical? Surely the point was that the waiting has been taking place for decades but the piracy (in West African waters at least) is a new phenomenon. Perhaps you owe apologies to the BBC.
> 
> All this waiting outside ports must be maddening for shipping companies who are losing money hand and foot as a result.


I would be very surprised to learn that ship owners are losing money by waiting outside ports in West Africa. It has been about forty years since they actively sought charters of loading cement in Europe for Nigeria. Knowing that the anchorage times were at least 3 months. There were literally hundreds of ships lying off Lagos and Port Harcourt, which led to a huge increase in the number of piracy incidents. The main victims of this practice were the crews of the anchored ships who suffered robbery and violence. The ship owner collected their charter rates until the ship was finally unloaded.


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## LouisB (Dec 23, 2007)

Johnny Walker said:


> I would be very surprised to learn that ship owners are losing money by waiting outside ports in West Africa. It has been about forty years since they actively sought charters of loading cement in Europe for Nigeria. Knowing that the anchorage times were at least 3 months. There were literally hundreds of ships lying off Lagos and Port Harcourt, which led to a huge increase in the number of piracy incidents. The main victims of this practice were the crews of the anchored ships who suffered robbery and violence. The ship owner collected their charter rates until the ship was finally unloaded.


Yes JW - I was there, amongst others, during the great cement debacle. Theft and piracy were rife against many vessels waiting to discharge. Only the Israelis and Russians seemed to take direct action to fight off the marauders. At the time many OOW heard the sounds of automatic weapons being fired followed at daybreak with the ships assumed to be concerned having departed during the night. Other vessels of the same nationality were left well alone after that. Thieving against other ships continued as usual. Calls for help on 16 went unanswered by the 'authorities'.

LouisB. (Scribe)


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## Julian Calvin (Feb 2, 2011)

Whilst accepting that the usual Nigerian ahem "bureaucracy" still exists, you would be surprised at the changes in Lagos.
True, there are bulkers and tankers sitting outside for weeks at a time but the container vessels turn round quite quickly. 
Since AJ Moeller took over managing a substantial area of the wharf things have improved dramatically. Maersk medium size vessels now call (up to 40,000 m/t) and will turn around in a day or two discharging/loading up to 1000 TEUs.
In the old ED days our typical turn around on a 7000 ton 'F' boat was seven days or more.
Even the bulkers are now discharging at between three and four thousand tons a day.
Sent direct from sunny Lagos.


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## OilJiver (Jun 30, 2014)

RayL said:


> Perhaps our media have not been keeping us informed of events in that area of the world.


So, no apologies required on my part then?


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