AIS remains off since 0000 UTC Mar 26, tanker reportedly was boarded by pirates, crew mustered in citadel, no contacts, no news on crew and ship condition, status.
Merchant ship was attacked early in the morning Mar 26 off the coast of Republic of Congo, details including ship’s ID weren’t disclosed. According to tracks, positions and time of the ships in the area, attacked ship might be identified as tanker MONJASA REFORMER. As of 0315 UTC Mar 26, no AIS during last 3 hours.
Product tanker MONJASA REFORMER, IMO 9255878, dwt 13702, built 2003, flag Liberia, manager MONJASA DMCC, UAE.
Mar 30 UPDATE:
Tanker Seized By Pirates in Gulf of Guinea Reappears 540 Miles Away
A Danish-owned vessel that was boarded by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea on Saturday was spotted about 540 miles further off shore on Tuesday, according to a maritime cooperation center monitoring security in the area.
The Liberian-flagged oil and chemical tanker Monjasa Reformer was boarded by five armed people some 140 miles west of the Republic of Congo’s Port Pointe-Noire. All 16 crew sought refuge in a safe room aboard, according to the cooperation center.
Danish marine fuels supplier Monjasa, owner of Monjasa Reformer, said on Tuesday all communications channels with the vessel were down. The company was unable to provide further detail on Wednesday for security reasons, a spokesperson said.
The Gulf of Guinea has become a global piracy hot spot in recent years, although cases have fallen there since 2021 as national authorities stepped up security efforts aided by foreign naval ships, according to the U.N. Security Council.
Mar 31 UPDATE: Tanker was missing since the time of the attack, she was found by French Navy on Mar 30 off Sao Tome and Principe islands. By the time French Navy appeared, pirates already fled tanker, taking with them at least 3 crew as hostages. The rest of the crew are reportedly, safe and sound. So citadel didn’t save the crew, pirates managed to break in, took control over the ship and took her some 300 nm north from the position tanker was captured. Ship’s AIS is still off, understood all communications means were destroyed.
Update:
A patrol vessel with the French Navy has located the missing tanker Monjasa Reformer four days after it was attacked by pirates and went missing in the Gulf of Guinea.
Six crew members are reported missing.
The French Navy vessel, Premier Maître L’Her, located the vessel Thursday using an aerial drone before rescuing and providing assistance to the crew. The operation was conducted in collaboration with regional partners and the Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade Gulf of Guinea (MDAT GoG) information center.
On Saturday, March 25, at 22:39 UTC, the Liberia-flagged oil tanker Monjasa Reformer, with 16 crewmembers, reported an ongoing attack by five armed pirates while located approximately 140 nautical miles (nm) west of Pointe Noire, Congo. MDAT GoG, located in Brest, France, and Portsmouth, UK, relayed this information to relevant authorities.
The French Navy’s Premier Maître L’Her, engaged in Operation Corymbe, proceeded to the tanker’s last known location with support from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) Monrovia, regional navies, and the MDAT-GoG, which maintained communication with the ship’s owner.
The vessel briefly reappeared on AIS on Tuesday approximately 470nm away from its last known position.
On Thursday, March 30, Premier Maître L’Her located the Monjasa Reformer en route to Nigeria using an aerial drone, which also identified a pirate boat alongside the tanker. However a subsequent reconnaissance flight showed the pirate boat had departed.
Premier Maître L’Her later received a distress message Thursday evening from Monjasa Reformer, as the vessel was approximately 90nm south of Bonny, indicating that six crew members had been kidnapped by the pirates, prompting the patrol vessel initiated a rescue operation.
The patrol vessel embarking an inspection team, including a nurse and a doctor, to the tanker in cooperation with Nigerian authorities.
Following an initial medical check-up, it was determined three crew members had sustained minor injuries, which were treated by the onboard doctor.
On Friday morning, Nigerian patrol vessel NNS Gongola arrived in the area. In coordination with the shipowner, Premier Maître L’Her escorted Monjasa Reformer to the port of Lomé.
MDAT-GoG has issued a warning to mariners in the area regarding the piracy threat, advising exercise extreme caution when transiting the area.
The opinions expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily those of News2Sea.
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