Singapore says unidentified people boarded tanker off Ivory Coast
There was a crew of 20 on the tanker, which had been operating in the West African zone for the past 60 days.
A Singapore-registered oil tanker has been boarded by “unidentified persons” about 300 nautical miles (555 km) off the coast of Ivory Coast in the Gulf of Guinea, the city-state’s port authority said.
The Gulf of Guinea has long been known as a hotspot for global piracy, with insurance company Beazley offering the “Gulf of Guinea Piracy Plus”, a tailored insurance plan for maritime personnel traveling through the area. The maritime zone covers 11,000 square kilometers (4,247 sq mi) and extends from Angola to Senegal.
But piracy incidents have declined since 2021 as national authorities ramped up security efforts, aided by foreign naval vessels, the United Nations said.
The tanker Success 9 had 20 crew members of various nationalities on board, including a Singaporean when it was “boarded by unidentified persons on Monday”, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
In a statement on Tuesday, the MPA said it was working closely with the shipowner, Monrovian maritime rescue officials and the city-state Changi command and control center to monitor the situation and provide assistance.
It gave no further details about the incident, such as the nationalities of the rest of the crew.
Hai Soon Group, a Singapore-registered company that owns the tanker, immediately declined comment and said it was awaiting further updates.
The tanker has been operating in the West African zone for the past 60 days, Refinitiv ship tracking data showed.
According to Vortexa’s data, there was the last record for shipping, according to Vortexa’s data.
A patrol boat sent out to rescue the tanker had been unable to locate it because the beacon had been disabled, an Ivorian security source involved in the case said.
“We think it is an act of piracy because the modus operandi is the same,” the source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters news agency, adding: “We have sought outside help in Spain and Europe.”
Pirates hijacked a Danish ship off the Republic of Congo last month and kidnapped part of the crew before abandoning ship.