- A cargo vessel was the latest target of pirates in the waters off Benin.
- The attack came just one day after reports of an even more brazen attack on a vessel in the oil fields in the Gulf of Guinea.
- Five Chinese nationals working as crew members, including possibly the master, were reportedly kidnapped from a Singapore-flagged vessel.
- The vessel FPSO Sendje Berge was attacked by pirates near Nigeria and nine crew members were kidnapped.
Pirates kidnap crew members from two vessels on the same day, reports Safety4sea.
The kidnappings took place in the Gulf of Guinea.
A total of 14 crew members were abducted from two vessels in two separate piracy attacks in the Gulf of Guinea on 2 July, according to reports by ReCAAP Focal Point (Singapore).
- The first incident occurred onboard a FPSO while anchored at Okwori field offshore, Nigeria and
- The second incident on a general cargo ship while drifting in the Gulf of Guinea.
Crew missing aboard cargo ship
The Singaporean-flagged general cargo ship Kota Budi was approximately 185 nm from nearest ashore, Gulf of Guinea, on 2 July.
While the ship was drifting and awaiting for the next order, the AB came on the bridge to start his watch duty and found there was no one on the bridge.
The chief officer later found five crew comprising master, chief engineer, 3rd officer, electrical engineer and chief cook missing. The remaining 15 crew onboard the ship were safe.
The company reported the incident to MDAT-GOG, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and a security company for assistance. The company is currently working with the local authorities to find the missing crew.
Pirates on board FPSO
Meanwhile, the Singaporean-flagged FPSO ‘Sendje Berge‘ was at Okwori field offshore Nigeria, in the early morning hours of 2 July.
While at anchor, armed pirates boarded the vessel and kidnapped nine crew onboard.
The remaining crew were not harmed. The FPSO vessel is permanently moored in the Okwori field offshore, Nigeria.
Piracy prone zone
The area has been notorious for pirate attacks in recent years. The International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB) in its 2019 annual piracy report highlighted “an alarming increase in crew kidnappings across the Gulf of Guinea.”
According to the IMB report, the number of crew kidnapped in the Gulf of Guinea increased more than 50% to 121 sailors in 2019. The report said it those incidents equated to over 90% of global kidnappings reported at sea.
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Source: Safety4sea
