Good place to avoid in Atlantic Ocean

The Gulf of Guinea, positioned on the Equator along the African continent, is a good place in the Atlantic Ocean to avoid according to a US Maritime Advisory distributed on January 3, 2023:

Piracy, Armed Robbery, and Kidnapping for Ransom (KFR) pose significant threats to U.S. flagged vessels transiting or operating in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) as well as U.S. mariners onboard a vessel or transiting to or from a vessel in the GoG.

Pirates, armed robbers, and KFR groups continue to operate off Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Sao Tome and Principe, and Togo, targeting a variety of vessels to include tankers, container ships, general cargo vessels, fishing vessels, passenger vessels, and vessels supporting oil drilling/production.

These groups have boarded vessels up to 275 nautical miles from shore, and it is not uncommon for these groups to fire upon vessels during boardings and attempted boardings.

KFR groups generally kidnap senior crew members, including the master and chief engineer, and any Western or foreign crew members. Kidnapped crew members are normally taken ashore in the Niger Delta region where KFR groups demand ransom payments in exchange for the safe return of the crew members.

Details of incidents in the GoG can be found in the Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping reports, posted at https://www.oni.navy.mil/ONI-Reports/Shipping-Threat-Reports/Worldwide-Threat-to-Shipping/