A tanker which disappeared off the coast of Angola is feared to have been hijacked in what would be the first pirate strike on an oil vessel in the region this year.
The Liberian-flagged tanker MT Kerala was last seen on Saturday, January 18 seven nautical miles north west of the country’s capital Luanda and has been missing since.
The loss of communication with the tanker follows a number of warnings issued by a commercial seafarer welfare organisation, Dryad Maritime, of a suspect vessel operating off the Angolan coast.
The tanker’s operators, Dynacom, confirmed that communciation with the ship had been lost last week.
“It is suspected that pirates have taken control of the vessel but same is not yet confirmed,” the firm said.
“Since then, we have taken immediate actions and working together with authorities/ agencies for establishing communication, with the vessel.
“Dynacom is committed to the safety of the crew, environment and the vessel.”
The vessel is feared to have been operated by a Nigerian gang involved in refined product cargo theft.
If confirmed as a hijack, Dynacom Tankers will be the first company hit by a pirate attack this far south off West African waters in 2014 – after its other vessel, MT Smyrni, was the last to be released by Somali pirates in 2013.
“This is a worrying development in West African maritime crime,” said Ian Millen, Dryad Maritime’s director of intelligence.
“We have been watching Nigerian based pirates launch an increasing number of attacks on vessels in areas not normally associated with piracy of late.
“If substantiated, this latest incident demonstrates a significant extension of the reach of criminal groups and represents a threat to shipping in areas that were thought to be safe”.
Already this year Dryad Maritime Intelligence have reported the boarding of a tanker, MT Super League and a hijacking and kidnapping of three crew members from cargo vessel MV San Miguel off the coast of Equatorial Guinea.
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