A Kiribati-flagged tanker has been hijacked by pirates off the coast of Ghana, the International Maritime Bureau has reported.
According to the IMB, the 3,232 gross ton MT Hai Soon 6 was boarded and hijacked by a group of 10 heavily armed pirates at 2340 UTC on Friday about 46 nautical miles south of Anloga, Ghana. The vessel was said to be sailing in southeasterly direction and the fate of the crew and vessel is unknown.
IMB advised all vessels in the area to keep a sharp lookout for the missing tanker and report any sightings to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre.
“Refined product cargo theft, perpetrated by Nigerian criminal gangs, continues to be a problem in the Gulf of Guinea region,” said Ian Millen, Chief Operating Officer of the maritime intelligence firm Dryad Maritime. “Whilst the numbers of successful attacks have declined in recent years, the reach of the criminal gangs has increased, striking as far West as the Ivory Coast and as far South as Angola. This latest incident, in the vicinity of the Ghana/Togo border is the third attack in seven weeks and just goes to prove that the problem has not yet been gripped, despite the best efforts of regional forces.”
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