The Nigerian Navy (NN) rescued the hijacked Motor Tanker (MT) MONJASA REFORMER with ten crew members off the Island of Principe.
Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, Director of Information, announced the operation in a statement on Tuesday.
Pirates attacked and boarded the REFORMER, IMO 9255878, on March 25 at approximately 22:39 UTC.
The ship was located at 05:29.35 South – 009:34.00 East, approximately 144 nautical miles (nm) west-southwest of Pointe-Noire, Congo.
The pirates boarded the tanker and held 16 crew hostage about 95 nautical miles off the Etame Terminal.
The Navy dispatched special forces after it was contacted by the West Africa Regional Maritime Security Centre (CRESMAO) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Ayo-Vaughan said the REFORMER was tracked in spite of the pirates’ disabling of the Automatic Identification System and communication set onboard.
The vessel departed Amsterdam and arrived in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) on February 14 after stops at Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo and Gabon for petroleum products trade.
The Navy vectored the NNS GONGOLA to intercept the tanker 76nm off the Island of Principe, near Nigeria’s maritime environment.
“The pirates had disembarked with six crew to an unknown destination while underway in the Sao Tome and Principe Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
“The Nigerian Navy deployed NNS KANO in company of the French Offshore Patrol Vessel to escort the vessel to Lome, Togo,” Ayo-Vaughan noted.
The NN collaborated with French Navy Ship, PREMIER-MAÎTRE L’HER, which was on patrol within the GoG under the Coordinated Maritime Presence arrangement.
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