Four robbers armed with a gun and knives boarded an anchored tanker, while it was anchored about 5 nm southwest of Conakry, in the Gulf of Guinea, according to data provided by the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre.
Upon boarding the ship, they took hostage the duty AB, tide his hands and forced him to lead them to the bridge.
Once inside the bridge, the robbers took hostage the duty officer and forced him to lead them to the Captain, Chief Engineer, third officer and bosun’s cabins.
After looting the cabins, the robbers locked the crew in a cabin and escaped with the crew’s personal belongings, cash and ship’s properties.
The Gulf of Guinea is a key area of concern for international maritime security.
According to IMB’s half yearly report for 2019, the seas circling West Africa are the most dangerous for piracy, as of the 75 seafarers taken hostage onboard or kidnapped for ransom worldwide so far this year, 62 were captured in the Gulf of Guinea – off the coasts of Nigeria, Guinea, Togo, Benin and Cameroon.
