According to Ghana News Agency, eight pirates were arrested, when Togolese navy thwarted a maritime hijacking in progress in the Gulf of Guinea. The ones arrested were six Nigerians and two Togolese.
On Sunday, May 12, eight armed pirates used a canoe to board on the Togolese-flagged product tanker Djetona 1, which was on anchorage off the port of Lome. The attackers hijacked the vessel and took her crew hostage.
Later on, the vessel’s owners called the Togolese navy and reported that their tanker had been attacked.
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The navy quickly responded by dispatching its patrol boats to investigate. The tanker was intercepted 25 nm from the anchorage area and forced to return to Lome.
According to the government of Togo, the crew that was onboard was safe and no injuries were reported.
Although pirate attacks seem to occur less, hijackings and kidnappings continue to be a casual phenomenon in the Gulf of Guinea. For instance, in March pirates attacked a Malta-registered tanker and kidnapped three of its crew members.
