Report: Ten Kidnapped from Tanker Off Lagos
Maritime security company Dryad Global reports that 10 crew have been kidnapped from a product tanker carrier 178 nautical miles south of Lagos, Nigeria, in the Gulf of Guinea.
A speedboat with an unknown number of pirates onboard attacked the Vemahope on April 30, kidnapping 10 crew and leaving four behind. If confirmed, this incident would be the seventh deep offshore incident within the Nigerian EEZ in 2020 and would mean 42 crew have now been kidnapped from vessels operating in West Africa this year.
“Historically, incident reporting within this area is significantly less than that of the wider Delta area, principally as a result of less traffic density. However, across 2019 and 2020 there has been a gradual increase in incidents occurring beyond traditional maritime crime heartlands,” says Dryad.
Dryad also reported an attempted boarding 2.5 nautical miles east of Takoradi Port, Ghana, on April 30.
Six pirates were arrested while attempting to board the LPG tanker Epic Bermuda. Reports suggest that during the initial boarding attempt the Officer on Watch noticed the pirates and sounded the alarm. The authorities at Takoradi then dispatched a patrol vessel to assist. The crew are reported safe.
Dryad notes this is the fourth in the waters off Takoradi this year and the third within three nautical miles of Takoradi Port.
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