V.Group stands with maritime industry

V.Group has joined more than 100 maritime organisations in signing the Gulf of Guinea Declaration on Suppression of Piracy.

The Declaration, which was announced this week by BIMCO, aims to raise awareness of the threats to shipping in the Gulf of Guinea. By signing up, V.Group has committed to supporting antipiracy law enforcement as mandated by international law.

This latest pledge complements our ongoing commitment to remain vigilant as we constantly engage with intelligence and security providers to mitigate threats. Earlier this year, we ran a webinar on the theme “Security Threats” to raise awareness with our customers and help them with their understanding of what we can do to help protect our colleagues at sea.

Matt Dunlop, Group Director HSSEQ & Technical at V.Group, said:

“As an industry, we must continue to support and raise awareness of the attacks on merchant ships in the Gulf of Guinea. We need to work together to address the issues and come up with effective solutions to improve security.

“Last year, 135 crew were kidnapped from ships globally, with the Gulf of Guinea accounting for 95% of these kidnappings. We must be the voice of our seafarers, who should feel safe whilst they are at sea carrying out their vital roles.  As we have seen recently in the Gulf of Guinea, if piracy and indeed the wider issue of maritime security continues to evolve, it is our role as an industry to work together to combat it.”

You can read the full Declaration here