The region has seen 31 incidents, including four hijackings, in the opening six months of this year as gangs turn their attention to ships other than offshore vessels and product tankers.
According to the International Maritime Bureau armed pirates off the Gulf of Guinea took 56 sailors hostage and were responsible for all 30 crew kidnappings reported globally so far in 2013.
Capt Pottengal Mukundan, director of the IMB, said in a statement: “There has been a worrying trend in the kidnapping of crew from vessels well outside the territorial limits of coastal states in the Gulf of Guinea
“In April 2013, nine crew members were kidnapped from two container vessels, one of which was 170 nautical miles from the coast.
“Pirates have used...
