OUTBURST! A CONTAINER SHIP OWNED BY MSC WAS ATTACKED BY ARMED GROUPS IN THE GULF OF GUINEA

October 27, 2021

WongDylan October 27, 2021

A CONTAINER SHIP WAS ATTACKED BY ARMED GROUPS

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According to foreign media reports, on October 25, a container ship owned by MSC Lucia was attacked and boarded by unknown armed men at SW Agbami terminal in the Gulf of Guinea.

According to Mike, the ship docked at the port of San Pedro in C?te d'Ivoire last week and then crossed into Lome, Togo, on 22 October, leaving Lome on the morning of 24 October and crossing the Gulf of Guinea in a south-easterly direction. At around 0900 GMT on the 25th, the MSC Lucia slowed down from section 14 to a stop about 150 nautical miles north-west of Sao Tome, according to AIS data provided by Polaris.

According to the network, the container ship "MSC LUCIA"(IMO: 8413887, MMSI 372045000)was built in 1985 (aged36) and currently flies the Panamanian flag.

history of port:

ship information network data

the russian defense ministry said in a statement that the destroyer, the admiral kulakov, received a distress signal monday morning from the mediterranean lucia. merchant ships reported that armed attackers approached and climbed onto the boat by speedboat. lucia's crew has withdrawn from the cabin for safety reasons.

in response, kulakov sent helicopters to carry russian marines on board. the ministry said a team searched the vessel and rescued the crew.

after seeing the approaching plane, the pirates fled the ship, boarded a speedboat and headed for the shore at full speed.

A CONTAINER SHIP WAS ATTACKED BY ARMED GROUPS

As of Monday evening, theMSC Luciawas still floating at 02 12 N 004 54 E.

lieutenant general kulakov is reportedly on a three-week mission in the gulf of guinea, accompanied by an oil tanker and a rescue tugboat.

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The incident comes just two weeks after the International Maritime Bureau(IMB)reported a general decline in global piracy data between January and September this year. While the global piracy regulator acknowledges that the once volatile Gulf of Guinea now has a strong decline in all forms of piracy, IMB says, "all forms of crime in the Gulf of Guinea, which used to be the most watched, are now showing a strong downward trend."

According to IMB's third quarter report, Nigeria reported only four incidents in the first nine months of 2021, compared with 17 in 2020 and 41 in 2018. There was a decrease in crew kidnappings in the area, with only one crew member abducted in the third quarter of 2021, and all incidents in the third quarter of 2021 were directed at vessels anchored at the port, compared to the 31 crew members who were taken away in five separateincidents in the third quarter of 2020.

the gulf of guinea region recorded 28 incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the first nine months of 2021, compared with 46 in the same period in 2020.

equally worrying is the increasing violence of attacks, which take place further offshore, underscoring the growing capacity of armed pirate groups in the region.

"IMO continues to provide technical assistance to member states in the region on the implementation of maritime security measures," IMO said in a statement. The ICC is currently working with the Interregional Coordination Centreto assist in the implementation ofthe Yaounde Code of Conduct(YCC)aimed at enhancing maritime security and addressing piracy, armed robbery of ships, illegal fishing and other illegal maritime activities. ”

the imo added: "the imo trust fund for maritime security in west and central africa enables the organization's maritime security capacity-building programme to assist coastal states and regional centres in the gulf of guinea within the framework of the yaounde code of conduct. ”