Hijacked tanker found: Crew safe

MPA Singapore tweeted this photograph of Fortune 9 safely at anchor in Abidjan

A Singapore-registered tanker boarded by unidentified persons on April 10 and missing since then has been found, with the crew all safe. The hijacked tanker, the 6,135 dwt products tanker Fortune 9, is operated by Fortune Ship Management, part of Singapore’s Hai Soon Group and had a crew of 20 on board when it was boarded, about 300 nautical miles off the Abidjan Coast, Cote d’lvoire.

Since then, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has been coordinating with the ship owner and multinational agencies to search for the ship, including regional security forces, the French navy, coast guards and maritime administrations from Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. All nearby and passing commercial ships were also cued to help in the search.

On April 15, at around 1700 hrs (Singapore time), MPA was updated that the hijacked tanker had been located off the coast of Abidjan.

A commercial ship, Monjasa Sprinter, that was passing by had earlier picked up a distress call from Success 9. The master of Monjasa Sprinter then reported the location of Success 9 to his Company Security Officer (CSO, who updated MPA. A Côte d’Ivoire Navy patrol vessel was deployed to confirm and board Success 9. All crew were safe and in good health. The ship has since safely arrived at Abidjan port.

MPA has advised all Singapore-registered ships to exercise caution and implement the guidelines in the Best Management Practices West Africa (BMP WA), when operating in the region to mitigate piracy-associated threats.

The Korean Foreign Ministry reports a Korean crewmember aboard the hijacked tanker as saying the pirates abandoned the vessel after stealing the cargo and seafarers’ personal belongings.

Though still all too common, piracy and armed robbery activity has, in fact, continued to decrease in the Gulf of Guinea, an area which had become a relative hotbed for this crime in recent history. According to the IMB Piracy Reporting Center, five incidents were reported in the first quarter 2023 compared to eight in 2022 and 16 in 2021.

Despite these improvements, the IMB Piracy Reporting Center is calling for coastal response agencies and international navies to maintain efforts in the region.

IMB Director Michael Howlett said: “We emphasize the need for continued, robust and coordinated regional and international naval presence to act as a deterrent to prevent and respond to piracy – especially considering nearly 85% of international trade is transported via the sea and it is the seafarers who need to be safeguarded.”