Six crew members of a Danish oil tanker kidnapped by pirates off the coast of Congo have been rescued, according to the ship’s owner.
When pirates attacked the Liberian-flagged Monjasa Reformer on March 25, it had 16 seafarers on board. When the French navy discovered the 135-metre-long tanker the following week off the coast of Sao Tome and Principe in the Gulf of Guinea, the remaining crew reported that six of their colleagues had been kidnapped.
Four days later, a French Navy patrol vessel spotted the missing tanker off the coast of Sao Tomé and Principe, about 90 nautical miles south of Bonny, Nigeria. Following their rescue, the crew members underwent extensive medical exams and are currently being sent to their various home countries to reunite with their families.
All recovered crew members are in relatively good health considering the challenging circumstances they have been under in the last more than five weeks
… said Anders Ostergaard, Monjasa CEO
Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea
Pirates boarded the chemical/product tanker Success 9 in early April, 300 miles off the of Ivory Coast a few weeks after Monjasa Reformer tanker was attacked in the area. Just last week, bulk carrier Glebe Bulker was attacked by pirates reportedly off Gabon and three seafarers have been abducted. Piracy continues to be of great concern, despite the drop in the number of incidents.
