Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Kitack Lim on Wednesday issued a statement stating that he is “deeply concerned” over the resurgence of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, the kidnapping of six crew members from the Monjasa Reformer and reports of another attack on the Success 9.
SHIPS & PORTS reported that Liberian-flagged oil and chemical tanker Monjasa Reformer was boarded on Saturday March 25, 2023 about 140 miles west of the Republic of Congo’s Port Pointe-Noire, while another tanker named Success 9 was hijacked on Monday, April 10 approximately 300 nautical miles south-southwest of Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
According to the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), there were 20 crewmembers of various nationalities onboard Success 9, including one Singapore national.
Speaking on the incidents, Kitack Lim said, “IMO recognises the progress that has been made since 2021 in the collective efforts to combat the threat of piracy and the resulting reduction in the number of pirate attacks. IMO urges continued sustainable support to the important work of the regional navies and entities within the Yaoundé Architecture to protect seafarers and to the operational piracy response from the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Collaboration Forum (SHADE) and the G7++ Friends of the Gulf of Guinea, in keeping with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2634 on piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.”
While appreciating the regional and international efforts to respond to “this disturbing incident”, the IMO scribe said the ongoing threat in the Gulf of Guinea “must be addressed cohesively, involving all relevant actors and including regional entities”.
Maritime security firm EOS Risk Group says latest boarding incident shows West African pirates’ ability to carry out piracy further from shore.
The Success 9 is a Singapore-flagged product tanker built in 2003 and owned by HS OCEAN PTE LTD. The ship is managed by Singapore-based Fortune Ship Management Ltd.
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