MT Manjosa Performer, a product tanker that was hijacked near the Gulf of Guinea by pirates last week has been located. The French Navy located the tanker this weekend. The vessel was calculatedly located approximately 90 nautical miles south of Bonny Island, Nigeria. French and British, Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade Gulf of Guinea (MDAT-GoG) reported incident “complete”. However, this is not the end of the story yet.
Manjosa the Danish oil trader who owned the tanker thanked the French navy for their efforts. The navy went to all the last known positions of the tanker. They then used an aerial drone to locate the vessel on March 30. The navy spotted a skiff near the then-abandoned tanker which they assumed was headed to Nigeria. By the time the navy reached the tanker the skiff has left and the French navy reported hearing a distressed message from the tanker through VHF 16. A French patrol boat sent a medical team to the tanker. 3 crew members were treated for minor injuries. The crew informed the French that the pirates kidnapped 6 crew memebers.
The vessel initially had 6 crewmembers. Manjosa assured that the remaining crew members are safe as well as the vessel and the cargo. A Nigerian vessel escorted the tanker to the port of Lome today.
Efforts to find the missing crew members are in progress. Commenting on the incident Mnjosa said, “Monjasa will continue working closely with the local authorities to support our seafarer’s safe return to their families.”
International Maritime Bureau (IMB) in their annual report of 2022 highlighted that piracy in the area has dropped to a “modern low”. 19 incidents were reported in the Gulf of Guinea and 115 reports worldwide in 2022. However, IMB reported only 2 incidents of kidnapping last year.
