West African Waters Under Siege as Pirates Abduct 20 Seafarers from Tanker off Togo
*Kidnapped crew member of Greek tanker dies, remaining three freed
WMN,,Twenty crew members have been kidnapped from a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker off Lome, Togo, Dryad Global said.
The incident, described as “the largest kidnapping event in West Africa within 2019”, occurred some 115 nautical miles southeast of Lome on December 15, 2019.
The tanker, identified as the 19,100 dwt MT Duke, was attacked and boarded by six pirates while sailing from Luanda, Angola, to Lome with a cargo of fuel oil.
Out of the ship’s twenty-one crew members, the pirates have kidnapped twenty Indian men, while one Nigerian seafarer is believed to have been left aboard the vessel, according to Dryad.
The 2003-built chemical/product tanker is owned by UK’s Union Maritime which confirmed the attack:
“Duke’s crew is managed by V Ships, and Union Maritime is working closely with them and all relevant authorities to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. The safety and welfare of the crew remains the top priority of Union Maritime.”
The latest incident comes less than two weeks after nineteen crew members were kidnapped from the tanker Nave Constellation off Bonny Island, Nigeria.
“With the latest kidnap of 20 Indian crew off Lomé, this brings the total number of kidnapped Indian personnel within West Africa to 89 since Jan 18, thus making Indian nationals the highest volume of kidnapped personnel operating in West Africa,” Dryad Global informed.
“This is however not the largest incident involving the kidnap of Indian personnel, with one larger event originating offshore Benin on Feb 1, 18 involving the kidnap of 22 Indian personnel from the MV Marine Express.”
The maritime security company further said that the newest incident is the 10th maritime security incident and the 4th kidnapping incident in the waters off Togo this year.
“The waters of Togo and Benin have thus far experienced a very slight reduction in number of incidents when set against those of 2018, however, with 5 kidnaps within 2019 against 0 in 2018 there has been a significant increase in serious maritime crime and there is a direct increase to the risk facing vessel and crews within this area,” Dryad Global noted, adding that pirates are likely to be using a mothership vessel to aid operations deep offshore, reports World Maritime News.
Reports also have it that three of the four kidnapped crew members of the oil tanker Elka Aristotle have been released, however, the fourth crew member, a Filipino national has died, European Products Carriers Ltd., managers of the Greek-flagged vessel, informed.
“A full investigation is underway into the situation, but it is understood that his demise was not as a result of any actions by those holding the crew hostage but due to illness,” the company added.
The three released crew members have undergone medical checks and are reported to be well.
They were being debriefed by the local authorities prior to returning home to the Philippines, Greece, and Georgia respectively.
The tanker was boarded by armed pirates on November 4, 2019 while anchored near the West African port of Lome, Togo.
The incident occurred only two days after nine crew members were taken hostage from a bulk carrier off Cotonou, Benin. The anchored vessel was boarded by perpetrators while it was waiting for berth to discharge cargo.
The seas around West Africa have been characterized as the world’s most dangerous for piracy, amid rampant kidnapping incidents over the recent period. Specifically, in the first nine months of 2019, the region accounted for 86% of the 49 crew taken hostage and 82% of the 70 crew kidnapped globally.
The trend has, unfortunately, resumed with at least four ships attacked in the region over the past month.
Seafarer unions and other industry bodies have been urging relevant authorities to allocate all necessary assets to the region in order to eliminate piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and protect the seafarers sailing through the region, reports World Maritime News.
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