Danish oil tanker attacked by pirates off Congo-Brazzaville
The autonomous port of Pointe Noire, the economic capital of Congo-Brazzaville, here on December 16, 2019 (illustration) © Samir Tounsi / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
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A Danish oil tanker under the Liberian flag was stormed by a group of armed men in an attack last weekend in the international waters of the Gulf of Guinea, off the coast of Congo-Brazzaville, its owner announced Tuesday, March 28. Since then, communications with the ship have been interrupted and no one has heard from the crew.
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According to the commander of the autonomous port of Pointe-Noire, Koua Ngoulou, the oil tanker Monjasa Reformer arrived in the harbor on March 18. Tasked with providing fuel, it refueled as usual several private ships, before returning to sea a week ago.
On the night of Saturday, March 25, the tanker contacted his security officer posted at the port of Pointe-Noire to warn him that three armed men had embarked and taken possession of the boat.
The crew has just enough time to indicate that its sixteen members have taken shelter in "the citadel", the ship's armored refuge, and that it is 260 kilometers from the Congolese coast... before communications were permanently cut off.
No communication or information on the nationality of seafarers
No communication with the sailors of this maritime replenishment, 134 meters long and with a capacity of 13,700 tons, has taken place since, says the company in a statement.
Joined by RFI, the Regional Center for Maritime Security in Central Africa (Cresmac) is waiting for information from the French Navy, which has sent a patrol boat to the last known position of the Reformer. But for Cresmac, there is little chance that the Danish tanker will always be in the same place.
The shipowner, which employs 568 people worldwide, said it had no additional information to communicate, including on the nationalities of the seafarers. According to the Danish press, they are not nationals of the Nordic country.
► Read also Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea: another security front
Former black spot of global piracy
A crucial sea route bordering hydrocarbon-rich countries, the Gulf of Guinea was for several years the new black spot of global piracy, stretching 5,700 kilometers between Senegal and Angola.
But attacks have decreased lately thanks to the joint efforts of coastal countries and European states. Denmark, an important merchant marine power via its giant Maersk, had sent a frigate in autumn 2021. The mission was marred by a shootout with suspected pirates that claimed the lives of five of them.
In 2022, only about 52 clashes were recorded in the Gulf of Guinea, according to the Maritime Information Cooperation & Awareness Center. There had been 2021 in 115 and 2020 in <>, according to this maritime security expert body based in Brest, France.
Since the beginning of the year, two attacks have been reported in the area, the last on March 2, according to the IMB.
The Monjasa Reformer case shows that "piracy problems off the west coast of Africa are far from being solved," the Danish Shipowners' Association said Tuesday.
► READ ALSO: Piracy in Africa: the end of a scourge?
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Read on on the same topics:
- Congo
- Criminality
- Denmark
- Piracy
- Oceans