The Fisheries Committee for the West
Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) through the regional online communications platform
established under the West Africa Task Force (WATF), has successfully
facilitated the arrest of 10 hijackers of the HAI LU FENG 11 vessel, rescuing
the lives of 18 crew members.
The vessel had an Ivorian fishing license,
and gave its last position in Ivorian waters on 14 May 2020. After two days of
non-responsiveness, intelligence was shared on the regional online
communications platform to alert all FCWC Member States agencies. The fact that
its last-known position was in Togo’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), together
with subsequent analysis of the vessel’s track led agencies to believe the
vessel was headed toward Nigeria’s EEZ. The Nigerian authorities were alerted
and they deployed the Nigerian Navy Ship NGURU to intercept and rescue the
hijacked vessel. The vessel crew members consisted of 8 Chinese, 7 Ivorians,
and 3 Ghanaians.
FCWC Secretary-General, Seraphin Dedi, commended all national, regional agencies, and the Technical team of WATF, for their actions that led to the research and arrest of the pirates on the hijacked vessel. “This operation is a justification for the need of regional cooperation and demonstrated the mastering of the use of VMS by experts in the region and its usefulness for the monitoring of vessels, the fight against IUU fishing and the protection of human lives and goods,” he stated. The cooperation that made this arrest possible further demonstrates the importance of communication and collaboration at the national and regional level and joint approaches to enforcement actions at sea.
