Preventing ecological disasters through information sharing: the Mauritius oil spill

Articles, Blue Economy, Cooperation, CRIMARIO, EU, Indian Ocean, Information sharing, IOC, IORIS, marine pollution, Mauritius, MDA/MDV

On 25 July 2020, the bulk carrier MV Wakashio, en route from Japan to Brazil, ran aground on a reef at Pointe d’Esny on the south-eastern coast of Mauritius. Although not carrying any cargo, the vessel was transporting more than 4100 tonnes of oil which, after the collision with the reef, began leaking into the…

Stark increase in kidnapping at sea in the Gulf of Guinea

Articles, Cooperation, Gulf of Guinea, kidnapping, maritime security, Niger Delta, Nigeria, Transregional Organised Crime

From 2018 to 2019, the number of crew kidnapped in the Gulf of Guinea increased by more than 50%. The stark rise in victims, from 78 to 121, led the region to account for 90% of global kidnappings reported at sea with 64 crew members kidnapped across six separate incidents in the last quarter of…