The Nigerian Navy said it is intensifying operations through the Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade – Gulf of Guinea (MDAT-GoG) to locate a tanker boarded by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea three weeks after the hijacking of a tanker named MT Monjasa Reformer on the high sea.
The ship named “Success 9” was hijacked on Monday, April 10 approximately 300 nautical miles south-southwest of Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Speaking on the development, naval spokesman, Olukayode Ayo-Vaughan, said, “The attack happened deep sea off the coast of Ivory Coast not in Nigerian waters. We are making efforts using our Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) system with various partners to locate the position of the vessel before further action on assistance to be rendered.”
Meanwhile, the authorities in Singapore said they are working closely with parties involved in the suspected hijacking of the Singapore-registered tanker Success 9 off Cote d’lvoire.
According to the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), which administers the Singapore Registry of Ships, there were 20 crewmembers of various nationalities onboard the vessel, including one Singapore national.
“MPA is working closely with the shipowner, Monrovia Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre and the Information Fusion Centre at the Changi Command and Control Centre to monitor the situation and render the necessary assistance,” MPA said.
According to the Equasis database, the 2003-built tanker is managed by Fortune Ship Management Pte Ltd and owned by HS Ocean Pte Ltd. Fortune Ship Management is part of the Hai Soon Group, a Singapore bunkering company and shipowner.
