In the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa, pirates have boarded an oil tanker flying the Liberian flag with 16 crew members aboard. The assault happened near Port Pointe-Noire, Congo, to the southwest.
Late on Saturday, the Monjasa Reformer “experienced an emergency situation,” according to a statement from Monjasa, the ship’s owner with headquarters in Denmark.
According to the ship’s anti-piracy emergency procedure, the crew sought safety in a citadel, a secure area, said company spokesman Thorstein Andreasen.
The crew members’ and the pirates’ countries were not immediately known. According to the statement, the ship’s communication channels are down, and foreign authorities have been informed.
The tanker’s precise position is unknown. According to Martin Kelly, senior analyst with the London-based EOS Risk group, a security firm working in the region, the last position was transmitted on Sunday without any updates since.
The Gulf of Guinea is the world’s most dangerous spot for attacks on ships. In June, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution strongly condemning piracy, armed robbery and hostage-taking in the area. The location of this abduction was further south, far from the usual locations of pirates.
“This is worrying since it’s rare in this area compared to the Gulf of Guinea, for example, where multiple ship hijackings take place every year,” said Rida Lyammouri, senior associate at the Moroccan-based Policy Center for the New South.
“Hopefully we are not witnessing a new trend and (this) is just an isolated incident. This also could be explained by increased security measures in the Gulf of Guinea and pirates are looking into new areas of operations,” he said.
