Pirates inch nearer Caribbean

Pirates are moving closer to the Caribbean, and they’re threatening India’s oil supplies. The trend comes at a time hijackings off the Somalia coast are declining.

Pirates inch nearer Caribbean, India sits up

Pirates are moving closer to the Caribbean, and they’re threatening India’s oil supplies.

Energy-hungry India is worried about rising piracy off the West African coast that has imperilled maritime routes New Delhi is increasingly depending on for oil imports to reduce its reliance on Iran. The trend comes at a time hijackings off the Somalia coast are in decline.

After yearly increases, India’s oil imports from the Gulf of Guinea nations that form Africa’s western armpit have dropped by about 16 per cent over the corresponding period last year as a reaction to a steady rise in piracy in the region, government and international statistics show.

India is now preparing to enhance its training and cooperation with West African navies to bolster their capacity to challenge pirates, senior government officials told The Telegraph.

“We’re ready to offer them any help they need,” an official said. “The Somalia piracy is decreasing; it’s in the Gulf of Guinea that we need to cooperate with allies to tackle this menace.”

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Source: Calcutta Telegraph.