BBC News posted on 27 April 2026 an article titled "Pirates Seize Another Vessel off Somali Coast as Threat Level Increased" by Harry Sekulich.
After a long period of inactivity, at least 4 vessels have been targeted by pirates off northern Somalia in the past week. Pirates seized an oil tanker with an international crew and a Somali-flagged fishing vessel.
The South China Morning Post published on 15 December 2025 an article titled "Latest Coup Raises Stakes for Beijing's Economic Interests in West Africa" by Jevans Nyabiage.
Just days after the Chinese ambassador met Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo to donate airport security inspection equipment, a military coup overturned the government. Political instability in West Africa has raised the stakes for China's vast economic interests in the region. Nevertheless, China is likely to remain active in West Africa and adapt to the most recent coup in Guinea-Bissau.
Stimson published on 20 August 2025 a commentary titled "India Must Level Up to Compete with China in the Western Indian Ocean" by Radhey Tambi.
The author argues that India is falling behind China's influence in the Western Indian Ocean and needs to step up its diplomatic, political, institutional, military, economic, and soft power engagement with the island countries if it intends to compete with Beijing.
The Associated Press published on 31 March 2025 an article titled "China Says 3 Chinese Crew Members Suspected of Being Kidnapped from a Boat Off Ghana Are Safe" by Francis Kokutse.
Chinese-owned fishing vessels often register as Ghanaian in order to fish legally in Ghanaian waters. Three Chinese crew members on one of these vessels were believed to have been kidnapped by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea but were subsequently declared to be safe by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Neither China nor Ghana has released details of the episode.
The Maritime Executive published on 13 January 2025 an article titled "China Wins Release of Fishing Boat Held off Somalia."
A Chinese fishing boat and its crew seized off Somalia by pirates in November has been released. The pirates demanded $10 million ransom for its release; China offered $1 million. It is unclear if China ultimately paid a ransom.
The South China Morning Post published on 29 December 2024 an article titled "In Africa's Gulf of Guinea, China Is Proving It Is Master of the Sea" by Jevans Nyabiage.
China is paying increasing attention to security in the Gulf of Guinea where its shipping interests have been subject to attack and littoral African countries have requested assistance in preventing attacks on international shipping. This is also in China's long-term interest to extend its military influence in the region.
Agence France-Presse published on 8 December 2024 an article titled "Somali Pirates Demand Ranson for Chinese Vessel."
Persons who had been hired to protect the fishing boat were joined by additional pirates and then demanded ransom for the ship's release. As security has improved along the Somali coast, it is not clear that the pirates will find a safe haven.
The Italian Institute for International Political Studies published on 24 November 2024 a paper titled "Blue Economy and the Mediterranean: How the Red Sea Crisis is Shaping the Region's Maritime Future (and What Is Next)" by Mario Mattioli.
Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping reduced transit through the Suez Canal by about 50 percent in 2023 and 70 percent in the first half of 2024. Transit around Africa's Cape of Good Hope adds 3,000 to 3,500 nautical miles to voyages connecting Europe and Asia, increasing travel time by about 10 days. This results in higher costs for fuel, wages, insurance, and freight borne by shipping companies.
The South China Morning Post published on 2 March 2024 an article titled "Sierra Leone Leader's Visit to China Shines a Light on Xi Jinping's Challenge to the West" by Jevans Nyabiage.
The President of Sierra Leone was Africa's first leader to visit China this year. While the leaders of both countries said all the right things during the 5-day stay, the president of Sierra Leone did not appear to obtain much by way of new financial commitments.
The China Global South Project published on 15 December 2023 an article titled "The Chinese on the Lion Mountain: Peering into China's Diaspora and Soft Power in Sierra Leone" by Susan Su.
The article looks at the impact of the Chinese diaspora community in Sierra Leone. The capital of Freetown has experienced an influx of Chinese businesses, many attracted by the growth of Chinese infrastructure projects and investments in the mining, timber, and fishing industries. But there are also concerns that the diaspora has become overly involved in local politics.
The U.S. Naval War College posted early in 2023 a 48 minute podcast titled "Maritime Competition in African Waters" with Captain Kamal-Deen Ali (Ghana Navy retired) and questions by Isaac Kardon, U.S. Naval War College, and Naunihal Singh, National War College.
Captain Ali responded to a wide range of questions related to maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, including illegal fishing, piracy, food security, mining, and great power competition. He demonstrated a thorough understanding of all these issues.
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace published in June 2023 a major study titled "Mapping the Indian Ocean Region" by Darshana M. Baruah, Nitya Labh, and Jessica Greely.
The study treats the Indian Ocean region as one continuous theater and looks at the major players, security challenges, and other factors that shape the region. It demonstrates how the Indian Ocean's economic, political, military, and geographic features interact to create a single geopolitical arena.
Coincidentally, the U.S. Department of State posted on 30 May 2023 a fact sheet titled "U.S. Relationship with the Indian Ocean Rim Association and Commitment to the Indian Ocean Region."
The release of the fact sheet was tied to the reopening after 27 years of the U.S. embassy in the Seychelles and the visit to Seychelles, Mauritius, and Comoros by Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma.
The South China Morning Post published on 30 April 2023 an article titled "China Donates Patrol Boat to Sierra Leone to Tackle Illegal Fishing and Piracy off West Africa" by Jevans Nyabiage.
China donated a patrol boat to Sierra Leone to deal with illegal fishing. This is part of a pattern of donations to countries in West Africa to combat both piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and illegal fishing in offshore waters. Much of the legal and illegal fishing is attributed to China's distant-water fishing fleet.
The European Parliament published in December 2022 a major study titled "Role and Impact of China on World Fisheries and Aquaculture."
The study reviews China's mariculture and marine fisheries on the operations of its distant water fleets. The six focal countries are Mauritania, Senegal, Madagascar, Mauritius, Ecuador, and the Soloman Islands. Considering the scale of Chinese subsidies in their distant water fleet, this leads to unfair competition in relation to EU and other fleets.
Mongabay, a US-based non-profit conservation and environmental science news platform, published on 11 May 2022 a commentary titled "Murky Provenance of a Chinese Fleet Clouds Madagascar Shrimp Fishery" by Rivonala Razafison.
Eight shrimp vessels owned by the Chinese company, Mada Fishery, are sitting idle in Madagascar during the shrimping season, apparently because of past fishing practices and legal questions related to ownership.
The Environmental Justice Foundation published on 30 March 2022 a major report titled "The Ever-Widening Net: Mapping the Scale, Nature and Corporate Structures of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing by the Chinese Distant-Water Fleet."
The report presents a comprehensive analysis of China's vast, opaque and at times illegal global fisheries footprint. Africa accounts for 79 percent of the apparent offshore fishery projects of the Chinese distant-water fleet, threatening the future of coastal communities in countries such as Ghana.
African Arguments published on 31 March 2022 a commentary titled "'It's Like Kicking Our Brothers': Aboard Trawlers Fishing Illegally in W. Africa" by Hans Lucht.
This is a personalized account of illegal fishing, mostly by Chinese trawlers, in the waters off Ghana.
The Guardian published on 1 February 2022 an article titled "Illegal Overfishing by Chinese Trawlers Leaves Sierra Leone Locals 'Starving'" by Peter Yeung.
Chinese owners hold about 40 percent of the industrial fishing licenses off Sierra Leone. Unregulated and unreported fishing has reduced the fish stock to the extent that Sierra Leone fishermen can no longer compete. Local fishermen also complain that Chinese trawlers are engaging in illegal fishing practices.
The South China Morning Post published on 15 January 2022 an article titled "Somaliland Offers to Resist Growing Chinese Influence in Africa as It Seeks US Recognition" by Jevans Nyabiage.
Somaliland, which declared its independence from Somalia in 1991, is urging the United States to establish a "representative office" in Hargeisa, its capital, as Taiwan has already done. Somaliland is playing the Taiwan card in an effort to obtain diplomatic recognition.
The Washington Post published on 12 October 2021 an article titled "U.N. Court Rules in Favor of Somalia over Kenya in Long-running Maritime Dispute" by Rael Ombuor and Rachel Chason.
The International Court of Justice ruled this week that Somalia, not Kenya, should control most of the triangle of water in the Indian Ocean over which Kenya has maintained sovereignty since 1979. The maritime zone is believed to contain oil and gas and is important for fishing.
