The European Union (EU) has announced that it intends to carry on with the deployment of its member states’ warships in the Gulf of Guinea to stem the recurring menace of piracy.

This announcement comes after a review of the Coordinated Maritime Presences (CMP) pilot program. The program has facilitated the deployment of warships by EU member states to the Gulf of Guinea since 2020. 

The EU is also proposing a two-year extension of the CMP mandates starting January this year and has outlined deployments of Danish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish warships into the region.

According to news reports, Denmark will patrol West Africa’s waters for four months, Spain for seven and a half months, France for eleven months, Italy for eight months, and Portugal for three and a half months. The deployment will ensure a continuous EU presence in the Gulf of Guinea with at least one ship in the area.

“The Gulf of Guinea continues to be particularly dangerous for seafarers. None of the coastal navies, with the partial exception of Nigeria, can operate the required high-sea patrol boats to respond to attacks,” said an EU External Action Service memo addressed to the Political and Security Committee of the EU.

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