Singapore-flagged oil tanker boarded by unknown people off Ivory Coast located
Published on: Sunday, April 16, 2023
By: AFP
The location of Singapore-flagged oil tanker Success 9 when it was boarded by ‘unidentified persons’. (Photo: Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade-Gulf of Guinea/TODAY)
SINGAPORE: A Singapore-registered oil tanker that was boarded by “unidentified persons” off Ivory Coast earlier in the week has been located with all crew safe, officials said today.
“All crew, including the Singaporean crew, were safe and in good health. The ship has since safely arrived at Abidjan port,” the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a statement.
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Twenty crew members of various nationalities had been on the Success 9 when it was boarded Monday in the Gulf of Guinea, according to authorities.
MPA said a passing commercial ship had picked up a distress call from Success 9 and an Ivorian navy patrol vessel had been deployed.
Singaporean officials added that they had been coordinating with the ship owner and multinational agencies as well as the French navy and maritime administrations from several countries in the region.
No further details were provided.
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Pirates have long been a risk in the Gulf of Guinea — a major shipping route stretching 5,700 kilometres from Senegal to Angola, with Nigerian gangs carrying out most attacks.
But since 2021, shippers say pirates have been conducting raids farther out in international waters.
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Their violence and sophisticated tactics prompted pleas from shippers for a more robust foreign naval presence, akin to the mission to curb attacks by Somali pirates a decade ago.
In March, pirates seized a Danish oil tanker off Congo and kidnapped six crew members before abandoning the ship.
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