Pirates operating of the Nigerian coast can lead to losses in revenue of close to  $7bn annually, with the bulk of costs affecting the oil industry. The falling oil prices have however caused these groups to rethink their hijacking tactics. This has therefore seen the replacement of the usual tanker hijack to the recent kidnappings for ransom on the Nigerian coasts. Between Jan 2012 and Feb 2016, 62 separate piracy attacks relating to oil and gas were recorded. This number has been falling 22 in 2014, to 13 in 2015, to only two in 2016 so far. Concurrently, the number of hostage taking events in Nigerian waters has risen from 4 in 2014, to 13 in 2015 and 4 already in 2016. While it’s too early to say if this is a direct result of falling oil prices, there is a strong correlation
Pirates are said to the thriving due to a lack of robust law enforcement, access to illegal markets and a target rich environment. A less considered impact from the falling oil price is the surge in tankers anchoring for long periods in pirate hotspots, as they act as temporary storage facilities until oil prices stabilise. While the bulk of these attacks were ‘snatch and grab’ incidents, static tankers are a tempting hijack target as they allow pirate groups the time to monitor security routines, select suitable boarding points and organise complex operations.
 

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