A Danish tanker flying the Liberian flag was attacked by pirates off Congo-Brazzaville in the Gulf of Guinea and contact was lost for three days with the crew of 16 sailors, its owner announced on Tuesday. During this attack, which took place on Saturday evening, 138 nautical miles west of the port of Pointe-Noire, in international waters, pirates were able to board the Monjasa Reformer and “the entire crew put themselves in security in the citadel” (armored refuge, editor’s note) of the ship, indicated the shipowner Monjasa. No communication with the sailors of this maritime supply vessel, 134 m long and with a capacity of 13,700 tonnes, has taken place since the company said in a press release. According to Congolese authorities, three men attacked the boat, which was in the area to supply ships with fuel. A crucial maritime route bordering hydrocarbon-rich countries, the Gulf of Guinea, which stretches 5,700 km between Senegal and Angola, was for several years the new black spot of global piracy. But the attacks have dropped recently thanks to the joint efforts of coastal countries and European states.
SOURCE: AFRICA NEWS