Baku, March 29, AZERTAC

Pirates boarded a Danish-owned Liberian-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Guinea over the weekend, the owner said Tuesday, adding that contact with the 16 crew members had been lost, according to VOA News.

The 135-meter Monjasa Reformer "experienced an emergency situation" on Saturday around 260 kilometers west of Port Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo, owner Monjasa said.

The ship owner said the crew had sought refuge in the tanker's secure room when the pirates boarded, "in accordance with the onboard anti-piracy emergency protocol."

"Onboard communications channels are currently down, and we are working with the local authorities to establish communication to understand the situation on board and provide all the support needed by the crew to overcome these dreadful events," Monjasa said.

It said "the vessel was sitting idle" when the incident took place.

Monjasa declined to give information on the nationalities of the crew members when asked by AFP.

According to an official at the port of Pointe-Noire, the ship had arrived in Congolese waters on March 18 and left on March 22, and was in international waters when it was attacked.

"Three men took control of the ship and since then the crew can no longer be reached," the official told AFP.

Noel Choong of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center told AFP a "missing vessel broadcast had been issued for passing ships to report to us if they come across it."

Pirates have long been a risk in the Gulf of Guinea — a major shipping route stretching 5,700 kilometers from Senegal to Angola, with Nigerian gangs carrying out most attacks.

But since 2021, shippers say pirates have been raiding farther out in international waters.

Their violence and sophisticated tactics prompted pleas from shippers for a more robust foreign naval presence like the mission to curb attacks from Somali pirates a decade ago.

Many of the attacks in recent years have been carried out by Nigerian criminal gangs who strike out in speed boats from hideouts in the Delta region to raid vessels.

Some gangs have captured larger fishing vessels which they use as a "mothership" base to raid further out to sea.