The International Maritime Bureau confirmed that pirates boarded the 4,360 TEU CMA CGM Turquoise, around 30 nautical miles south-west of Bayelsa Coast, Nigeria on April 11th. The captain raised the alarm and all crew members, except two, managed to get to the ship’s safety citadel.
The owners sent a message to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre reporting that they had lost contact with the vessel. The IMB PRC immediately informed the Nigerian Authorities and transmitted a warning broadcast to ships at sea.
After about 12 hours, the crew emerged from the citadel. Two crew were reported kidnapped. The Nigerian navy boarded the vessel for investigations. All other crew were reported to be safe.
The manager of the vessel, Dioryx Maritime Corporation, has also confirmed the incident. The company said that they cooperate with the charterers CMA CGM and that the families of the crew members were informed and are being kept continuously posted.
Vessel was en route from Lagos Nigeria to Douala Cameroon. At 1530 UTC Apr 13 vessel was at anchor on Douala outer road.
