Shipowners are facing a heightened piracy threat off West Africa following three failed attacks on tankers in the last three weeks. Security consultancy Ambrey said the risk of kidnappings for ransom is growing in the Gulf of Guinea.
Ambrey has published intelligence suggesting two active criminal syndicates are operating in the Bight of Benin, as well as the south and southwest of Bayelsa state in Nigeria. The most recent attack was reported on the 10,000-dwt product tanker NEFELI II (built 2003), 92 nautical miles (170 km) south of Bayelsa on 4 November. Ambrey said crew mustered in the citadel while the pirates boarded, stole property and damaged some equipment. Security consultancy Dryad Global said the crew comprised Russian, Georgian and Ukrainian personnel. But a spokesman for the manager told TradeWinds that no attack took place and the incident was believed to be a mistaken activation of the ship security alert system (SSAS) alarm.
See attached file: West Africa – Increased Piracy Activity.pdf
西非——海盗袭击风险加剧
过去的三周中发生了三起海盗袭击油轮未遂事件，船东面临西非地区海盗袭击的风险加剧。安保顾问公司Ambrey表示在几内亚湾绑架勒索的风险逐渐升高。
Ambrey已发布关于在贝宁湾以及尼日利亚巴耶尔萨州南部和西南部的两个活跃犯罪集团的情报。据报道，最近的一次袭击是11月4日，在巴耶尔萨以南92海里（170公里）的一艘1万吨的成品油轮NEFELI II（2003年建造）上。Ambrey提到，船员在海盗登船时聚到安全舱，他们掠走了财物还损坏了一些设备。安保顾问公司Dryad Global表示船上船员有包括来自俄罗斯、格鲁吉亚和乌克兰。但是该公司发言人告知TradeWinds，并没有发生海盗袭击，此次事件是由于错误操作导致激活船舶预警系统(SSAS)的警报。
详细信息请参阅附件。
