Tag: kidnapping

IMB received reports of 68 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships globally in the first half of 2021, down from 98 incidents during the same period last year and the lowest number of reported incidents for the first half of any year since 1994.

Following subsequent piracy attacks, Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade – Gulf of Guinea (MDAT-GoG) has assessed a heightened risk of piracy within Zones D, E & F in the region.

Reporting indicates that the fishing vessel Iris S was attacked 108nm South Cotonou, on May 31, resulting in the kidnap of 5 crew.

Five crew members were kidnapped from the fishing vessel ATLANTIC PRINCESS, when it was boarded 65nm South of Tema, reports by maritime security intelligence firm Dryad Global reveal. 

Considering the attacks on merchant ships in the Gulf of Guinea by Nigerian pirates, 99 maritime companies, organisations and flag states, have signed the Gulf of Guinea Declaration on Suppression of Piracy, which was launched on May 17.

The 10 Filipino seafarers who were kidnapped in the Gulf of Guinea have been released on April 11 and are expected to arrive home on April 19.

There was a decline in piracy globally in the first three months of 2021, with 38 incidents compared to 47 in the same period last year, but violence against crew is on the rise with 40 crew kidnapped compared to 22 last year, according to latest figures from IMB.

The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) is urging ships and crew transiting the Gulf of Guinea to remain alert and not let their guard down.

The Philippines authorities rescued four crew members, who were kidnapped from a Malaysian-registered fishing trawler by Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members, while operating off Sabah in January 2020. 

Following the kidnapping of 15 crewmembers onboard the Maltese-flagged tanker MT DAVIDE B, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Philippines said efforts are in progress to secure the safe release of the crew.