The repeated attacks taking place this year 2021 in the Gulf of Guinea call for urgent action. Thus, stakeholders develop guidelines to combat piracy and security risks.

Some of the world's largest maritime organizations are developing a plan to address the changing nature of piracy and other maritime security risks, following recent incidents off the coasts of West Africa and the Middle East. Groups such as the International Chamber of Shipping and BIMCO are working to establish the new guidelines by the end of the year. According to Jakob Larsen, BIMCO's head of maritime safety and security, the plan is to make it easier for ships to assess risks, so they can decide whether to change their route. The groups drafting the new maritime safety guidelines (which include Intercargo, Intertanko and the Oil Companies International Marine Forum...) also plan to reduce the size of the area classified as high-risk in the Indian Ocean due to the decreased risk of piracy near Somalia.

According to the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), this decision will allow merchant ships to move faster and eliminate much of the difficulties faced by ships in high-risk areas. The West African Gulf was home to nearly a third of the 68 piracy incidents reported in the first half of this year, including the 50 crew members kidnapped, according to the International Maritime Bureau. The waters around the Arabian Peninsula have also become a hotspot for ship attacks in recent years, mainly due to rising tensions between nations in the region. Last month, two crew members were killed in an attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman.