The incidence of piracy remains repetitive in the Gulf of Guinea. Earlier this week, 5 foreign sailors were abducted off the coast of Benin. Attacks on ships and kidnappings of sailors reached alarming proportions, making the Gulf of Guinea the world's first pirate hideout. On Monday, May 31, a fishing vessel was stormed by armed pirates 108 nautical miles off Cotonou, Benin. According to maritime security consultant Dryad Global, four South Korean sailors and a Filipino were kidnapped.

The boat, the object of the attack, was identified as the Iris-S, a 62-metre vessel flying the Ghanaian flag and operated by D-H Fisheries. Departing from the Ghanaian port of Tema, it had 36 crew members on board. This is the second attack involving a Ghanaian fishing vessel in less than two weeks in the Gulf of Guinea.

According to Dryad Global, 61 people have been kidnapped in six incidents on ships operating in the Gulf of Guinea since the beginning of the year. Last month, 234 companies and shipowners called for an international coalition to more effectively combat maritime piracy, which reached record levels in 2020 in the Gulf of Guinea.