Early this year, the crew members of the Mareena 1 had been attacked by armed pirates killing the cook of the boat and looted it. Geoffrey, the captain of the Mareena 1, told that there were attacks before but it has become worst now. According to him formerly there were hijackings and stealing but now the pirates attack and murder the crew members. It is fact that the waters off the 530-mile Nigerian coastline have been called the most dangerous in the world by a maritime watchdog group after a precipitous rise in the number of attacks over the past year.
The Nigerian Trawler Owners Association informed that the pirate attacks on fishing trawlers increased from 4 reported cases in 2003 to 107 in 2007. It also said that in January this year, there were 50 attacks on fishing boats. At least 10 fishermen were killed.
Pirates are now frequent in the defenseless fishing trawlers that chug up and down the coastlines, never far enough from shore to be out of reach of the pirates’ gun-mounted speedboats. As the menace of pirates surged the Nigerian Trawler Owners Association called nearly 200 vessels, back to shore in February. That meant a work stoppage for an estimated 20,000 workers and the drying up of the bulk of the local fish market.
After much hue and cry the Nigerian Navy assured fishing companies that their fleets would be protected. Boat owners warily sent their trawlers back out to sea. Rear Adm. Ishaya Ibrahim said that there is no way they can say security anywhere is 100 percent but navy is doing its best to protect the fishermen. He said that the authority has beefed up the security accordingly to guarantee them free and peaceful fishing activities.
