The Italian Navy stepped in to help South Korean product tanker B Ocean after pirates robbed its crew, stole fuel and left the vessel disabled in the Gulf of Guinea recently.
The vessel initially attempted to proceed to Abidjan in Cote d'Ivoire under its own power, but it became clear that the tanker required assistance, Maritime Executive reported.
The Italian patrol vessel Comandante Borsini was dispatched to assist the product tanker, after pirates boarded it on November 23. They left the following day, and the tanker reported the incident to the shipping company in South Korea. “Security forces had reported losing communication with the tanker and requested the assistance of vessels operating in the area to report sightings or any unusual activity in the area. The corvette reports that when they reached the tanker it was adrift about 300 miles from the coast, due to technical problems with its engines,” the publication reported.
A San Marco Marina Brigade security team boarded the B Ocean by helicopter and confirmed that the 19 crew members had been robbed of money and valuables, but they were uninjured. The pirates also stole a portion of the fuel cargo from the vessel, for the second time this year. They stole 977 tons of fuel in a similar incident in January.
A Borsini technical team also boarded the tanker to assist crew to restore propulsion.
The Italian Navy reported that the pirates had tampered with the navigation and communication systems and caused extensive damage to the vessel’s engine. The vessel had to be towed to port.
