West Africa Piracy Report

Unsuccessful Attacks/Robberies

• 19 June 2013 – Five pirates armed with machine guns boarded a general cargo ship at anchor between 0145 – 0245 LT while in position 09:14N – 013:57.3W, around 25 nautical miles south-west of Conakry, Guinea.  Pirates threatened the crew, stole the ship’s cash and crew’s personal belongings and then escaped.  All crew members on the vessel are safe.
• 13 June 2012 – Offshore supply vessel underway was reported attacked and boarded by pirates at 0320 LT in position 04:20.65N – 008:02.13E, approximately 7 nautical miles south-southwest from the OFON oil field at 30 nautical miles off the coast of Nigeria.  It is understood that 2 speed boats with 2 outboards engines each carrying 14 gunmen, none of which were masked, launched the attack.  The pirates were armed with AK-47’s.  After stealing personal items and belongings, reportedly, 4 expat crew members were taken hostage, understood to be Polish (Chief Engineer) and 3 Indians (Captain, Chief Officer and Bosun).
• 3 June 2013 (Late Report) – While at anchor, an unknown number of robbers attempted to board a Singapore-flagged chemical tanker, Rhino, while in position 06:16.50N – 003:20.7E, Lagos anchorage, Nigeria.  The robbers boarded through the hawse pipe via chain locker and exchanged gunfire with the Nigerian naval personnel on board.  The general alarm was activated and all the crew members on board the tanker were mustered in the citadel.  The robbers’ boat eventually left after 20 minutes.  None of the crew members were injured.  There were six bullet hull marks on the forward hull plate however nothing was stolen.

Piracy News

• 18 June 2013 – A French sailor who was kidnapped from a tanker in Togo, when attackers sought to use him as a shield, has been freed in the oil-producing region of Nigeria.  Benjamin Elman indicated to media that he was taken as a shield when naval patrol sought to free the French-flagged vessel on Thursday.  During a brief press conference, he indicated that “the navy officers negotiated the release of other crew members but…the pirates held me to ensure that they escape.”  He then indicated that he was taken to a village and fed bread and water.  Adding that the kidnappers were not violent.  According to military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu, soldiers “invaded the kidnapers’ camp and rescued him last night.. No one was arrested as the criminals had abandoned the camp on learning of the soldiers’ approach.”  He further noted that the military had acted on intelligence and that they had the cooperation of youths in the Amatu 1 community which is located in Bayelsa state in the Niger Delta region.  France-based Sea Tanker Shipping is the operator of the vessel, however the company has not made any comments pertaining to the release of the sailor.  On Monday, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported that a French-flagged tanker had been released after it was hijacked four days earlier in the region.  Although IMB did not release the name of the tanker, it appears to be the same incident.  The owners lost contact with their vessel on Thursday while it was in the Gulf of Guinea, just off the coast of Togo, leading the IMB to issue a warning to other ships transiting the region.  It is currently unclear if a ransom was paid for the release of the French sailor.