Search continues for oil tanker crew held hostage by pirates in West Africa

Six sailors held hostage by pirates who attacked a Danish tanker remain missing close to two weeks after a hijacking in West Africa.

The Danish company that owns the Monjasa Reformer oil tanker told The National that the focus was to secure the safe return of the crew.

The hostage-taking has raised concerns about a revival of piracy, which had experienced a brief lull over the past year.

Pirates boarded the Liberian-flagged vessel on March 25 when it was south-west of the Republic of the Congo’s Pointe Noir port.

The tanker had 16 crew of different nationalities on board, said the French Navy, which responded to the distress call and searched the north-east of the Gulf of Guinea.

Five days after the attack, on March 30, a navy patrol spotted the tanker that was abandoned by the pirates with some crew on board off the small island of Sao Tome and Principe.

“The rescued crew members are all in good health and safely located in a secure environment and receiving proper attention following these dreadful events,” said Thorstein Andreasen, communications director for Monjasa. The company has declined to specify the nationalities of the crew or provide further details, citing security concerns.

Mr Andreasen said everything possible was being done to reunite the missing crew with their families.

“Our thoughts are with the crew members still missing and their families during this stressful period,” he said.

“Monjasa will continue working closely with the local authorities to support our seafarers’ safe return to their families.”

No damage was reported to the ship or the cargo of marine gas oil and sulphur fuel oil products it was carrying.

The crew alerted management that pirates had boarded the vessel on the night of March 25.

Sailors took refuge in the citadel, a designated safe area within a ship, in keeping with anti-piracy emergency protocol. A French Navy drone located the vessel on March 30 and also recorded the presence of a pirate boat alongside the ship.

When the naval patrol vessel began approaching the ship, another reconnaissance flight showed the pirate ship was no longer alongside the tanker.

“The crew still on board indicates that six of its members were kidnapped by pirates,” the navy said.

The French team, along with a nurse and doctor, boarded the Monjasa Reformer, working in co-operation with Nigerian authorities.

The medics treated three minor injuries and the vessel was escorted to the port of Lome by Nigerian patrol vessels.

The French Navy has vessels almost permanently in the Gulf of Guinea as part of Operation Corymbe to help fight pirates in West Africa.

The Gulf of Guinea remains a dangerous spot and the abduction has rekindled fears of kidnapping for ransom.

There were 19 pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea last year, down from 35 in 2021, the International Maritime Bureau said.

There were 115 attacks against ships globally last year compared to 132 in 2021, the IMB said.

Monjasa’s Mr Andreasen said everything possible was being done to reunite the missing crew with their families