Pirates Hijacked Vessel off the Coast of Gabon

Barely some weeks after West and Central African leaders met to discuss the rising case of piracy and insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea, pirates struck again. The new technique really worked perfectly well. The pirates seemingly boarded the Malta-flagged Cotton tanker, carrying a partly loaded cargo of fuel oil, on Monday near Port Gentil, Gabon, in the first reported attack in that region in the past five years, Turkish operator Geden Lines said according to Reuters.

The piracy was on an oil products tanker with 24 crew on board off the Gabon coast, the vessel's operator said on Wednesday. "The company is in contact with the families of the 24 Indian crew members on board and the appropriate authorities have been contacted," Geden Lines said in a statement.

The Gulf of Guinea is really under real and imagined threats with the piracy scourge. It includes Nigeria, Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire as well as Gabon and remains a major source of oil, cocoa and, increasingly, metals for world markets. International navies are not actively engaged in counter-piracy missions in the region.

The anchorage of vessels off West African coastal nations, with little protection makes them readied target for criminals unlike waters off Somalia and the Horn of Africa, where ships can move past at high speed with armed guards on board.

The UN had earlier lauded the efforts of the West African leaders who met in Cameroon on the rising case of piracy and even called for the intervention of a multinational naval force. "The attack occurred around 200 nautical miles (NM) further south than the previous most southerly attack, which was around 160NM southwest of Bonny Island (in Nigeria) on 26 April," security firm AKE said.

"It therefore marks a significant expansion of the geographical range of Gulf of Guinea piracy. It also demonstrates the regional nature of the illegal fuel trade, the supply of which tankers such as Cotton are generally hijacked for."

The United States Boosts its Military Presence in Africa

The US military presence in Africa is on the rise yet still relatively calm and esoteric; striking Islamist militants with drones, supporting African forces in stabilising Somalia and Mali and deploying dozens of training teams. Its presence remains mostly low key, barely mentioned in the context of President Barack Obama's visit this week to Africa.

Nevertheless, with some 4,000-5,000 personnel on the ground at any given time, the United States now has more troops in Africa than at any point since its Somalia intervention two decades ago according to Reuters. That ended in humiliation and withdrawal after the 1993 "Blackhawk Down" debacle in which 18 U.S. soldiers died.

The build-up of US military presence is due to seemingly two main reasons; al Qaeda and China. It wants to stem the tide of the rising influence of Islamic insurgency and other militant groups as well as win influence in a continent that could become an increasingly important destination for American trade and investment as China's presence grows in Africa.

Obama's week-long African tour will focus on military and security issues apart from food security and democracy. He is expected to douse fear that the US is militarising Africa for its own benefits shrouded in the war against terror. In the Horn of Africa, the vast majority of US forces deployed in Africa are at a major French military base in Djibouti, a tiny country sandwiched between northern Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Experts reveal the military base has provided a staging post for occasional special forces deployments and drone and air attacks against Islamist militant targets in Somalia. However, US officials have refused to comment. The base was also allegedly instrumental for NATO's operations in Libya.

The US views its military presence in Africa as key in a continent where China is rapidly expanding and has surpassed the United States in terms of trade relations in Africa. China has huge investment in mining, energy and infrastructure and also a key ally of Sudan's President, Omar al Bashar which of course has always bolstered him against the West.

US officers believe its limited military missions have gone a long way in reducing initial African scepticism over Germany-based AFRICOM, set up in 2008 to bring all US military activities in Africa under one unified command, rather than dividing responsibility between commanders in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

"We are focusing on building human capital," says Major General Charles Hooper, head of strategy and plans at AFRICOM. "The smaller missions can be some of the most effective when it comes to gaining trust."

In Angola, Namibia, Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere, US engineers have helped train local counterparts in landmine clearance. In southern Africa, military medics have helped local armies tackle HIV infection while in Mauritania, the focus has been on veterinary aid to local ranchers.

US warships combating piracy off both East and West Africa are increasingly frequent visitors to local ports. One US aim is to convince African militaries their interests are best served by remaining democratically accountable and not interfering in politics.

Some operations, however, have hit just that problem. The hunt in Central African Republic for Ugandan warlord and head of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army Joseph Kony has largely been suspended following a March coup in CAR.

The anti-LRA mission had been the only one in Africa in which combat troops were deployed, involving just over 100 US special forces personnel. US forces continue to train Ugandan and other armies as part of that operation.

Critics in Africa complain Washington's approach to the continent has become increasingly militarised and focused on counterterrorism. Others worry US military clout may ultimately be used to seize resources. Administration officials disagree and point to Obama's visit as evidence of US intentions.

"This trip ultimately disproves the notion that we're somehow securitising the relationship with Africa," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told a conference call last week. "This trip is expressly devoted to trade and investment, democratic institution-building, young people and unleashing economic growth through some of our development priority."

In general, US forces have only been able to operate when African governments - or sometimes France, which maintains a network of bases in former colonies - allow them to. Permission can be quickly withdrawn for political reasons. The United States still treads carefully in Somalia, the scene of a serious reverse in 1993 when militia fighters killed 18 Americans on a mission to capture a Somali warlord in support of a UN mission.

US officials say there are often one or two US liaison officers deployed inside Somalia helping African Union forces fight Islamist group al Shabaab - which is linked to al Qaeda - on behalf of Somalia's transitional government. Most of the US support for the African Union mission AMISOM remains outside the country, training forces in Kenya, Uganda and elsewhere.

It is a similar picture on the other side of the continent, where the US military is also acting primarily in support of local nations and France. The aftermath of the 2011 Libya war has seen a flood of weapons and militants across the Sahel, fueling the rise of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb which briefly captured much of northern Mali before a French offensive there earlier this year.

The US Air Force provided much of the transport for both African and French reinforcements in Mali, while US air tankers from RAF Mildenhall in England have flown long missions over the Sahara refuelling French combat jets. Some 100 US personnel deployed to Niger to set up a drone base. Unlike in East Africa, however, the drones will be unarmed and used only for reconnaissance to track Islamist militants like Boko Haram in Nigeria.

The US and African officials say Washington has long been reluctant to share its most sophisticated intelligence with African partners, in part over worries it might fall into the wrong hands. African officers say that if they are to be truly effective at fighting militants in their own countries and as part of broader Mali-type missions, they need to know as much as possible about rebel movements, locations and plans.

"The Americans are our friends - but often they are friends who are not frank," says former Senegalese army chief Mansour Seck, also an ex-ambassador to Washington. "They have a tendency to ask you what you have but will not tell you what they have."

Piracy in Africa: The End of a New Beginning

Maritime insecurity in Africa, particularly in connection with acts of piracy, has constituted an important field of study for security researchers in recent years.

It has also frequently made local and global media headlines. Despite this trend, the focus in recent reports is starting to shift away from alarm towards detailing the diminishing threat of piracy around Somalia. Large-scale pirate activities there appear to be on the wane, but in what ways can we reasonably expect 2013 to be different from the past, in East Africa and elsewhere?

So far in 2013 the most notable event has been the increase in piracy incidents off the West African coast, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea. This continues the trend in 2012 noted by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) where, despite a sizeable drop in the number of attacks in East Africa from 237 in 2011 to 75 in 2012, a total of 58 incidents were recorded in attacks off the West African coast in 2012, compared to 49 in 2011.

Increased naval patrols and capacity and the adoption of lessons and practices suitable to passage through these sea lanes and areas can account for the drop in attacks and might prompt hopes that piracy will eventually pose an insignificant security threat.

However, the attacks off West Africa differ from East African incidents mainly due to one factor - violent criminal acts are now connected with the movement of oil. The most recent attack took place off Côte d'Ivoire on 21 January 2013 when a large oil tanker named ITRI was hijacked, also demonstrating that the problem is not geographically limited to the Gulf of Guinea.

Crews in such cases are often assaulted while illegal oil bunkering occurs - a practice whereby the ship is drained of oil, which is subsequently spirited back to shore and either sold or refined.

This could result in oil spills, particularly around the already ravaged Niger delta. Offshore oil platforms, often seen as a means of avoiding land-based political instability, are now potential targets and frequently beyond immediate aid. Terrorist attacks on vulnerable installations could also occur, further prompting increases in the number of operations in partnership with the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM).

Many of these acts will be reported as being criminal rather than piratical, as they do not all occur in international waters but rather within the sovereign borders of states, which are set at 12 nautical miles offshore, and are thus subject to countries' own laws and legal systems, rather than being subject to international law as is commonly the case off Somalia.

Meanwhile, that of Nigeria is gradually gathering international attention though it is still largely localised. If the menace is not check appropriately, West Africa might degenerate into another Somalia just as the Islamists are allowed fertile grounds.

Official: Foreigners aid Oil Crime in Nigeria

'A bad workman blames his tools.' -English proverb

A Nigerian official in the Petroleum Industry says the increase in oil crime rates and pipelines vandalisation is a result of foreign interventions in the purchase of illegal crude oil from criminals in Nigeria.

Abolore while visiting Areppo, scene of the most recent pipeline vandalisation and fire mishap stated that the power of the vandals and perpetrators of oil crimes is on the rise because there are ready-made foreign buyers and foreign cash for the illegal products.

The worrisome aspect of this statement is maybe there exists any difference between the vandals, the government and oil officials cum workers. They are all oil thieves. The government condemning foreigners berth oil in the coast of Togo so as to perform 'magic' in supply. An act similar to piracy. Officials also connive with oil marketers to fraud the country and the people.

One begins to wonder where lies the legitimacy in the statement when Shell pays government specially for security to avoid being subjected to environmental laws and accountability. Where is the legitimacy when citizens are executed as in the case of Ken Saro Wiwa for Shell BP to continue operations.

The government indicting the foreigners is the same government with numerous oil scandals; swimming in corruption without any iota of responsibility, accountability and concern for the welfare of the people. Without any crack in the wall, lizards cannot partition the inside of a fence into rooms.