A product tanker with 23 crew members was hijacked off West Africa according a report by the International Maritime Bureau.
The report says that a group of armed pirates boarded the vessel during ship-to-ship (STS) transfer operations approximately 62nm SW of Cotonou, Benin. All 23 crew on board have been taken hostage and the vessel has been sailed to an unknown location.
Piracy off West Africa has been on the rise in recent months. Labeled piracy’s emerging market, gangs off West Africa are mimicking the successes of pirates operating off the coast of Somalia.
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