Six crewmembers who were kidnapped by pirates from the Liberian-flagged product tanker, The 2003-built 13,700 dwt ship, managed by Montec Ship Management was hijacked<\/a><\/span> on March 25 together with 16 crewmembers some 140 nautical miles (260 km) west of Port Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo. The vessel subsequently went missing for several days until it was found by the French navy near Sao Tome and Principe on March 30, with six seafarers missing and taken as hostages<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n \u201cAll recovered crew members are in relatively good health condition given the difficult circumstances they have been under in the last more than five weeks. They have all been receiving medical checks and are now being repatriated to their home countries to reunite with their families,\u201d Monjasa CEO Anders \u00d8stergaard said in a statement.<\/p>\n The waters around West and Central Africa have become a hotspot for piracy in recent years with multiple attacks reported by Splash<\/em>. The Monjasa Reformer<\/em> incident was followed by the boarding of Success 9<\/em><\/a><\/span>, a Singapore-flagged bunker tanker off Ivory Coast on April 10. The vessel and its crew were found six days later. Earlier this month, three crewmembers were kidnapped from Eagle Bulk\u2019s supramax Grebe Bulker<\/em><\/a><\/span> at the Owendo Anchorage in Gabon.<\/p>\n \u201cThe attack on the Danish-owned ship is unfortunately just one among several attacks on commercial ships that we have witnessed in the Gulf of Guinea over the past few months. It clearly shows that the problems with piracy off the coast of West Africa are far from solved,\u201d said Anne H. Steffensen, director general and CEO of Danish Shipping.<\/p>\n \u201cThe countries that are present with naval vessels in the Gulf of Guinea should coordinate their presence to a greater extent so that we can best secure the vast area for our seafarers. Denmark should also continue to be present in Nigeria with a maritime advisor, while considering what minor contributions we can make towards increased training or monitoring while our navy ships are occupied elsewhere,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tMonjasa Reformer<\/span> in the Gulf of Guinea in late March have been rescued in Nigeria, Danish bunker supplier Monjasa confirmed on Monday.<\/p>\n