Hong Kong-flagged multi-purpose vessel Huanghai Glory remains adrift in the Gulf of Guinea south-east of Lagos after it was attacked by an unknown number of pirates about 84 nautical miles (nm) south of the Nigerian coastline on Friday.
Although its current GPS location this morning was closer to shore, its average travelling speed was recorded as being 0.6 knots and its expected time of arrival in Lagos is March 16.
There’s no certainty about the status of the vessel’s 23 Chinese crew members but it’s expected that they most likely retreated to the ship’s citadel or panic room at the time of the attack.
The illegal boarding followed hours after about five or six armed individuals attacked the Greek-owned tanker, MT Minerva Virgo, when it was about 45nm south of Cotonou, Benin.
According to reports the tanker was on its way from the Netherlands and heading for Nigeria when it came under attack, forcing 21 of its 22 crew members into the citadel.
Maritime security company Dryad Global says it is not certain whether the pirates captured the unaccounted for sailor as they boarded the Minerva.
Roughly five hours prior to the attack, a suspicious approach on a vessel south of Lomé, Togo, was also reported, bringing to three the number of armed vessel attacks on ships travelling through the Bight of Benin since January 1.
On February 20, some 32nm north east of where last Wednesday’s apparent illegal approach was recorded, the oil tanker Alpine Penelope was also attacked and had one of its crew members kidnapped.
Friday’s attack on the Huanghai brings to three the number of pirates boarding cargo ships in this part of the Gulf of Guinea.
Altogether there have now been four attacks in the area.
More importantly, two of the boarding attacks last week occurred within 48 hours of each other.
In respect of the Huanghai and Minerva attacks, Dryad said: “It is assessed as highly likely that the perpetrators of both incidents are the same grouping and are highly likely to have originated from within Nigerian waters.”
Although Nigerian authorities did respond with a vessel from its navy that was sent to the site where the Huanghai was attacked, Dryad said it was the ocean directly south of Benin and Togo in particular that had become high-risk because coordinated security measures beyond the Nigerian Exclusive Economic Zone were inadequate.
Pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea spiked from 78 in 2018 to 191 last year and are expected to rise more in 2020. – Eugene Goddard
