A Danish oil tanker seized by pirates nearly a week ago has been located in the Gulf of Guinea, near Nigeria.
The 135-metre-long Monjasa Reformer was boarded by armed men around 160 miles (260 kilometres) west of Port Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo on March 25 and went missing for four days.
It was found 90 nautical miles from Bonny in Nigeria. Some reports said the location is within the coast of Sao Tome and Principe.
Some of its crew members were kidnapped, the ship’s owner Monjasa said without giving the number or nationalities of those abducted. A report by a shipping industry news website GCaptain said six people were kidnapped. The vessel had 16 crew members at the time of the attack.
“The pirates had abandoned the vessel and brought a part of the crew members with them,” Monjasa said in a statement on Friday.
EOS Risk Group said a distress call was received on March 30 from the missing tanker.
“Whilst there remains uncertainty surrounding the incident, vessels are advised to increase alert state and maintain visual and radar lookout,” the group said.
Monjasa Reformer is used in West Africa to transport marine gas oil, low sulfur fuel oil, and high sulfur fuel oil products.
– Falling piracy
The Gulf of Guinea, a major shipping route stretching 5,700 kilometers from Senegal to Angola, has become a global piracy hotspot in recent years. Cases have fallen however since 2021 as governments in the region stepped up security.
Only three ships were attacked in the area in 2022 compared to 26 in 2019, according to a report by The Maritime Information Cooperation and Awareness Center. Three attacks have been recorded in the region in 2023 so far.
Many attacks in recent years are blamed on Nigerian militants who strike in speed boats from hideouts in the Niger Delta.
Denmark, which has big commercial shipping interests, deployed a frigate to the gulf in 2021 to protect shipping, but the frigate was pulled back last year after the outbreak of the Ukraine war.
The latest attack shows piracy remains a threat in the Gulf of Guinea.
– Recovery
A French Navy patrol vessel located the missing tanker on Thursday, with support from regional navies.
The ship was located en route to Nigeria with a pirate boat alongside the tanker. Later, reconnaissance flight showed the pirate boat had departed.
On Friday morning, Nigerian patrol vessel NNS Gongola arrived in the area. In coordination with the shipowner, the French vessel escorted Monjasa Reformer to the port of Lomé.
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