After the attack on the crude oil tanker ‘Duke’, 20 crew were abducted on December 15. According to V.Ships Management (India) 19 seafarers were released on January 19, but one crew lost his life. Now, new information emerges, noting that the pirates provided medical assistance to the ill crew member, but were not able to save him.
Steamship Mutual informed that it received information from TCI Africa that new measures have been taken by the Port of Cotonou to help protect against acts of Piracy for vessels both in the port of Cotonou and at anchorage in the waters of Benin.
Another piracy incident was reported in Nigeria, as a group of armed men fired upon a containership, located about 19 nautical miles South West of Bayelsa on January 21, Tuesday. Following, the crew has been reported to be safe and unharmed.
The eight crew members that were abducted from the Greek-flagged “Happy Lady” tanker while at Limboh port in Cameroon have been released. The attack had taken place in the end of December.
In its weekly report for 14-20 January, ReCAAP ISC informed of four incidents against ships in Asia, comprising a very serious incident (CAT 1) and three least serious (CAT 4) incidents. The highlight of the week was the first crew abduction in 2020 from a fishing vessel off Malaysia on 17 January.
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.
Nineteen crew that were kidnapped by pirates from the oil tanker ‘MT Duke’ off Benin last month, have been released, while one died during the captivity. The twenty Indian crew were kidnapped on December 15.
While overall piracy incidents declined in 2019, there was an alarming increase in crew kidnappings across the Gulf of Guinea. In 2019, IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre received 162 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships worldwide, in comparison to 201 reported incidents in 2018.
During the last SAFETY4SEA Singapore Forum, Mr. Masafumi Kuroki, Executive Director, ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC), discusses about the maritime crime situation in Asia. As he says, ReCAAP ISC aims to accurately inform about maritime crimes in Asia, while noting that such incidents are declining. Nevertheless, there are still areas of concern in which the situation must improve.
Following the piracy attack upon the oil dredger “Ambika” in the waters of the Niger Delta several days ago, the Nigerian navy officially informed that managed to rescue the three kidnapped sailors. Specifically, the kidnapped crewmembers were saved in an operation late Tuesday by a navy team in the southwestern coastal state of Ondo.
