Gulf of Guinea

IHO sea area 34 · -8° to 10° E, -1° to 7° N

in force
4
last 12 months
6
archive messages
662
categories
15

What the archive shows

662 messages are recorded since 1980-01-17 for the Gulf of Guinea. The selection uses the IHO sea area; a message may describe an exercise, equipment outage or continuing operation as well as a hazard report.

Piracy accounts for 290 of 662 recorded messages (44%), the largest category group in this selection.

The NGA historical archive froze in 2024-05; live collection began 2026-08-17. Counts around that gap are incomplete, and changes in reporting volume do not establish changes in incident frequency.

In force now · 4

  1. NAVAREA II 316/26 · Surveys2026-09-04
    A list gives last known positions of rigs and drill ships in the Gulf of Guinea, Pointe Noire and Sierra Leone at 040430 UTC Sep 26.
  2. NAVAREA II 257/26 · Nav aids2026-06-20
    In the Gulf of Guinea, IMD1 at 03-57.22N 007-46.53E and Calm Buoy at 04-01.31N 007-48.18E are unlit; navigate with caution.
  3. HYDROLANT 986/26 · Wrecks2026-05-21
    A dangerous wreck is located in the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria at 04-18.50N 007-02.20E.
  4. NAVAREA II 215/26 · Wrecks2026-05-21
    A dangerous wreck is reported in the Gulf of Guinea at 04-18.50N 007-02.20E. Navigate with caution and at reduced speed.

Longest in force

  1. NAVAREA II 215/26 · Wrecks2026-05-21
    A dangerous wreck is reported in the Gulf of Guinea at 04-18.50N 007-02.20E. Navigate with caution and at reduced speed.
  2. HYDROLANT 986/26 · Wrecks2026-05-21
    A dangerous wreck is located in the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria at 04-18.50N 007-02.20E.
  3. NAVAREA II 257/26 · Nav aids2026-06-20
    In the Gulf of Guinea, IMD1 at 03-57.22N 007-46.53E and Calm Buoy at 04-01.31N 007-48.18E are unlit; navigate with caution.
  4. NAVAREA II 316/26 · Surveys2026-09-04
    A list gives last known positions of rigs and drill ships in the Gulf of Guinea, Pointe Noire and Sierra Leone at 040430 UTC Sep 26.

By year

80
99
00
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
26

By month (all years)

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

By category · available archive

Piracy29044%
Cable ops17526%
Surveys6710%
Incidents528%
Exercises254%
Wrecks162%
Other102%
Nav aids71%
Derelicts61%
Missiles61%
Debris30%
Spills20%
Volcanic10%
Restricted10%
Quakes10%

Archive · 658 cancelled

  1. HYDROLANT 3047/12 · Cable ops2012-12-27 → 2013-02-02
    Seismic survey in progress until 25 mar 13 in 05-39.35N 001-40.00E
  2. HYDROLANT 3028/12 · Piracy2012-12-24 → 2012-12-29
    M/V attacked in 04-01N 005-14E at 231845Z dec
  3. HYDROLANT 2945/12 · Piracy2012-12-14 → 2012-12-22
    M/V attacked in 04-01.5N 005-29.1E at 132310Z dec
  4. HYDROLANT 2939/12 · Cable ops2012-12-13 → 2013-01-19
    Seismic survey in progress until further notice M/V polarcus asima towing ten 10000 meter long cables in…
  5. HYDROLANT 2771/12 · Cable ops2012-11-23 → 2012-12-05
    Cable repair operations 241000Z nov until further notice by cableship peter faber vicinity 06-14.4N 003-29.3E
  6. HYDROLANT 2740/12 · Cable ops2012-11-19 → 2012-12-21
    Seismic survey in progress until further notice by M/V bgp pioneer towing six 6500 meter long cables in area…
  7. HYDROLANT 2697/12 · Cable ops2012-11-14 → 2013-01-05
    Seismic survey in progress until further notice by M/V viking vanquish towing 12 8000 meter long cables in…
  8. HYDROLANT 2614/12 · Cable ops2012-11-05 → 2012-11-16
    Seismic survey in progress until 15 nov by M/V polarcus asima towing ten 10000 meter long cables in area…
  9. HYDROLANT 2378/12 · Piracy2012-10-11 → 2012-10-11
    M/V hijacked in 05-12.56N 004-03.68E at 052330Z oct
  10. HYDROLANT 2344/12 · Incidents2012-10-07 → 2012-10-09
    222 meter M/V orfeas, grey hull, 24 persons on board, possibly hijacked in 05-12.56N 004-03.68W on 06 oct
  11. HYDROLANT 2285/12 · Cable ops2012-10-01 → 2012-10-16
    Seismic survey in progress until 15 oct by M/V bgp prospector in area bound by 04-28.3N 006-55.5W, 04-43.8N…
  12. HYDROLANT 2212/12 · Cable ops2012-09-23 → 2012-11-23
    Seismic survey in progress until 22 nov within three miles of 06-00.38N 001-21.58E
  13. HYDROLANT 2200/12 · Cable ops2012-09-22 → 2012-09-23
    Seismic survey in progress until 22 nov within three miles of 06-00.38N 001-21.58E
  14. HYDROLANT 2050/12 · Piracy2012-09-05 → 2012-09-05
    M/V abu dhabi star hijacked in 06-11N 002-55E on 04 sep
  15. HYDROLANT 1976/12 · Piracy2012-08-28 → 2012-08-31
    M/V energy centurion hijacked in 05-52N 001-24E on 28 aug
  16. HYDROLANT 1941/12 · Incidents2012-08-22 → 2012-08-24
    100 meter M/V anuket emerald, white hull, unreported
  17. HYDROLANT 1712/12 · Cable ops2012-07-28 → 2012-08-02
    Cable operations 281400Z jul until further notice by cableship chamarel in 06-21.5N 003-26.5E
  18. HYDROLANT 1699/12 · Cable ops2012-07-26 → 2012-09-29
    Seismic survey in progress until 21 mar 13 by M/V viking vanquish in areas bound by: a. 04-38.76N…
  19. HYDROLANT 1504/12 · Cable ops2012-07-07 → 2012-07-16
    Underwater operations 090500Z jul until further notice by cableship ile de batz along trackline between…
  20. HYDROLANT 1433/12 · Piracy2012-06-30 → 2012-07-07
    M/V attacked in 02-40.0N 006-08.3E at 300515Z jun

Sea boundaries: Flanders Marine Institute (2018), IHO Sea Areas v3, marineregions.org (CC BY 4.0). Not for navigation — follow official NAVAREA / coastal broadcasts.