The Maritime Administration (MARAD) of the United States Department of Transportation issued one new advisory to commercial shipping, canceling the earlier ones issued in 2019. Namely, the 2020-002-Gulf of Guinea-Piracy/Armed Robbery/Kidnapping for Ransom, cancels the the U.S. Maritime Advisory 2019-010.
The Port Authority of Douala in Cameroon issued a notice informing that armed security will be provided to vessels anchoring at the Base Buoy (B9), in protection of the seafarers onboard and the safety of the vessel as well.
Singapore’s Information Fusion Centre (IFC) issued a paper focusing on the increasing tensions and attacks taking place in the Singapore Strait concerning the timeframe between November to December 2019, providing recommendations for ships sailing in the area.
On December 31, pirates attacked the Greek-flagged “Happy Lady” tanker from Limboh port in Cameroon; The attackers managed to kidnap 8 crewmembers out of which 5 of Greek nationality, two Filipinos and one Ukrainian.
According to reports, four Chinese nationals from Sigapeche fishing company were kidnapped on Sunday, by pirates who attacked the two company fishing vessels off the port of Owendo in Libreville, capital of Gabon.
ReCAAP ISC issued five incident alerts, focusing on three piracy attacks which took place on December 19 and two on December 23, concerning ships underway in the eastbound lane of Singapore Strait.
Following the abduction of four crewmembers from “Elka Aristotle” tanker off Lome, Togo, the managing company of the Greek-flagged tanker announces that three of the crewmembers taken are free. However, the company reports that one of the four kidnapped crew, of Filipino nationality, has died, in what it is understood to not be a from actions by those holding the crew hostage but due to illness.
JJ Ugland released a statement informing that the nine crewmembers that were kidnapped in November were released in Nigeria and brought to a safe place in Southern Nigeria, waiting for the preparations so that they can return home.
A Nigerian man suspected of kidnapping the crew of a Dutch cargo ship last year was arrested upon arrival at Schiphol airport in the Netherlands at around 10 a.m. on Thursday, December 5, after being extradited from South Africa.
According to reports, pirates boarded the Nave Constellation tanker vessel and kidnapped 19 of the vessel’s crewmembers, while the vessel was sailing around 100 nautical miles off Bonny Island, Nigeria on December 3, 2019.
