Although pirates may seem like a faraway concept for us here in Singapore, they do pose a threat in some waters around the world.
On Monday (10 Apr), one Singapore-flagged oil tanker was boarded by “unidentified persons” near western Africa.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) is monitoring the situation.
Based on initial reports, one Singaporean is on board the captured vessel.
On Wednesday (12 Apr), MPA shared in a statement that Singapore-registered oil tanker SUCCESS 9 had been boarded by “unidentified persons”.
The tanker met its misfortune about 300 nautical miles (555.6km) off the Abidjan Coast, Côte d’Ivoire — better known as Ivory Coast — in West Africa.
Source: Lloyd’s List
Based on the statement, the hijackers had apparently boarded the vessel at about 10pm Singapore time on Monday (10 Apr).
Additionally, MPA revealed that there are 20 crew members of various nationalities aboard the vessel. One of them is a Singapore citizen.
The authorities did not specify the nationalities of the other crew.
Source: South China Morning Post
The Maritime Executive called this a “piracy incident”.
They also noted that security consultancy Praesidium International released a piracy attack security incident report following the hijacking.
The firm analysed available data and found that the tanker slowed down and was likely drifting when the pirates took control.
At around the same time, the ship lost automatic identification system (AIS) transmission, a tracking system on ships.
The Maritime Executive speculated that the pirates likely boarded the tanker to steal oil.
However, this incident is not the first of its kind in the region.
MPA said in its statement that it is working closely with the ship owner, Monrovia Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, and the Information Fusion Centre at the Changi Command and Control Centre to monitor the situation.
They will then render the necessary assistance to the vessel.
Source: MarineTraffic
The Maritime Executive also reported that Praesidium International has cautioned ships in the region to increase vigilance for the time being.
They warned that the mothership the pirates likely came from is probably still in the area, so they may launch more attacks.
That said, we hope that the crew members aboard SUCCESS 9 will escape from the ordeal unharmed.
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Featured image adapted from VSLJOIN.
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