West Africa accounts for 90% of all sea kidnappings

The West African coast is becoming increasingly dangerous for commercial shipping, according to a new report from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

It says that 90% of all kidnappings at sea happen in that region.

In the last three months alone, 32 crew were kidnapped in the Gulf of Guinea.

Most of the vessels were attacked on the high seas, between about 20 and 130 nautical miles off the coast, the IMB said.

It found that attacks on commercial ships and the kidnapping of crew members had been on the rise in recent times in West Africa.

It has become common for crews to be attacked by bandits armed with knives and guns, IMB director Michael Howlett says.