AFRICA: Three crew members of hijacked bunker vessel kidnapped

AFRICA: Three crew members of hijacked bunker vessel kidnapped
Rhys Berry 23 November 2020 https://www.bunkerspot.com/africa/51859-africa-three-crew-members-of-hij...

Three crewmembers of the Stelios K bunker ship have been kidnapped, according to Dryad Global.

The Togo flagged vessel was reportedly hijacked last week while en route to Lagos. The vessel’s last known location was 115 nautical miles SSW of Lomé.

In a bulletin published on 19 November, Dryad Global reported that the Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade – Gulf of Guinea (MDAT-GoG) had received an update regarding the last position of the boarded tanker and confirmed that the attackers were still onboard.

In an update issued today (23 November), Dryad Global confirmed that pirates left the vessel at 05°09N - 003°29E (180/75NM off Lagos Nigeria); and that three crewmembers had been kidnapped.

The incident is the twenty-third kidnapping incident in the Gulf of Guinea in 2020, with a total of 118 persons kidnapped.

‘The Gulf of Guinea [High Risk Area] was raised to a critical risk rating following a sharp increase in incidents in the past week, including two successful kidnappings within three days,’ said Dryad Global. ‘Vessels are advised to exercise heightened caution in this region.’