The French Navy has located the Danish product tanker, Monjasa Refomer, that pirates boarded and hijacked, kidnapping six crew members in the Gulf of Guinea last weekend.
France’sAtlantic Maritime Prefecture (AMP), said in a statement that the navy’s high seas patrol boat, Premier Maître L' Her, had found the chemical and oil tanker and helped ten crew members to disembark on Friday.
Armed men had boarded the tanker while it was 140 nautical miles west of Pointe Noire off the Democratic Republic of the Congo last Saturday, according to the ‘Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade Gulf of Guinea’ (MDAT-GoG) in the United Kingdom.
The Monjasa Reformer had a crew of 16 sailors of different nationalities.
“Going to the tanker's last known position, the French Navy's Premier Maître L'Her high seas patrol vessel (PHM), engaged in Operation Corymbe, was carrying out searches for the ship in the north-east of the Gulf of Guinea, with the support of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) Monrovia, as well as the navies of the region, and of the MDAT-GoG,” the AMP said.
It added that the Premier Maître L'Her’s first master had initially sighted the vessel on the afternoon of March 30, while he was using an aerial drone en route to Nigeria, and that he had also spotted a pirate boat alongside the ship. The French navy vessel then began its approach to the hijacked tanker before a fresh drone reconnaissance flight revealed that the pirate boat was no longer alongside the vessel.
“Early in the evening, he heard a distress message from Monjasa Reformer on VHF16. The crew still on board indicated that six of its members were kidnapped by pirates,” the AMP said. The navy vessel immediately began a manoeuvre to rescue the tanker.
“The order was given to embark his inspection team, complete with a nurse and a doctor, on board the Monjasa Reformer. This operation is being conducted in conjunction with the Nigerian authorities,” AMP said.
By the end of the evening, an initial medical check-up had been completed on the crew and sent to the ship's owner. The doctor treated three crew members for minor injuries.
“The next morning, the Nigerian patrol vessel, NNS Gongola, arrived in the area. In agreement with the shipowner, PHM’s Premier L'Her escorted the Monjasa Reformer to the port of Lomé,” AMP said.
It is unclear at this stage where the pirates have taken and are holding the kidnapped crew members.
As part of Operation Corymbe, France has almost permanently deployed one or two vessels in the Gulf of Guinea, as well as a maritime patrol aircraft. The vessels contribute to the maritime security in partnership with local naval forces in the region.
