More pirate attacks are expected on vessels carrying Ghana�s oil in the coming months, Dr Kwasi Aning, Security Analyst at the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Center has said.
According to him, the country should expect more pirate attacks on oil vessels as Ghana is producing oil in commercial quantities.
The security expert told Joy News that the Gulf of Guinea, aside the Gulf of Aden, has been made dangerous due to the activities of the pirates, which he said have gradually risen since 2006, particularly on the coast of Cote d�Ivoire and Nigeria.
He made the submission a day after the Voice of America (VOA) report quoted Greek Maritime officials as saying that about 10 suspected pirates seized a vessel, a Greek-run oil tanker off the coast of Nigeria on Saturday.
The ship was said to be carrying oil from Ghana to Benin but Thomas Manu, Director of Exploration and Production at the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has denied the report, explaining that their initial investigations revealed that the crude was not really coming from Ghana.
Dr. Aning expressed concern about the attitude of officials in dealing with the operations of pirates which he said could cost the nation a fortune.�This piracy is something we are going to see more and more of as the oil comes off stream and the economy begins to grow�I think we will begin to see more attacks on the vessels�.
He therefore urged the authorities to put in place pragmatic measures and strategies to stop the pirates� activities.
�We need much more consistent study on the strategies, the groups, their mode of attack, their weaponry to be able to design the response mechanisms that we need. Unfortunately, I think, there is a certain unwillingness to accept that this is going to be a growing trend therefore we need to start designing the response mechanisms.�
He bemoaned the ill preparedness of the security agencies, especially the Navy, to combat sophisticated crimes that may arise as result of the oil production, saying, the current security arrangement in place to protect the oil is �far from satisfactory.�
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