Maritime piracy has become one of the most urgent security issues in the Gulf of Guinea, which is currently the second-most affected region worldwide. Cameroon’s coastline is at the centre of these dynamics, with attacks, shifting routes and an expanding set of criminal activities that both accompany and sustain piracy. Understanding these trends is essential to analysing how violence is maintained at sea, in mangrove areas and on land.

This report provides an overview of current and emerging patterns of maritime piracy and the cohabitant flows that reinforce it. It tracks the evolution of incidents on and off the Cameroonian coast, describing the methods used by individuals commonly referred to as pirates, including timing of attacks, routes, targets and operational tactics. While vessel boardings, attempted attacks, hijackings and kidnappings have generally decreased, illegal activities that generate alternative income have increased, particularly hostage-taking, extortion and illegal taxation. These criminal flows sustain pirate economies and strengthen their resilience when groups are not directly involved in kidnapping-for-ransom operations.

About the author

Raoul Sumo Tayo is a Senior Research Consultant for the Central Africa Observatory project on organised crime and violence. He joined the ISS in 2024 as a senior researcher in the ENACT programme, based in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Prior to this, he worked for the Small Arms Surveys, the Center for Peace, Security and Integration Studies, the University of Maroua and the Centre for Strategic Studies and Innovations. Raoul’s research interests include borders, counterinsurgency, vigilantism and contemporary criminal threats. He studied sociology at the University of Liège, Belgium and history of international relations at the University of Yaoundé 1, where he obtained his PhD in 2017.