Vessel attacked by pirates rescued, on way back to Lagos

INFORMATION available to Sunday Tribune has revealed that the Maersk Tema vessel, which was attacked on Friday by pirates, has been rescued and is reportedly on its way back to Lagos.

According to the vessels position monitored online, it has resumed normal speed and currently heading to Lagos.

“Position update on Maersk Tema: it appears the vessel has resumed its speed and course towards destination Lagos.

“So apparently, after the pirate attack, all must be back to normal now though we await confirmation from the vessel owners and managers,” Captain Rabinder Singh stated via a tweet.

It will be recalled that pirates had attacked a container vessel named Maersk Tema at 200 nautical miles, South West Bonny on Friday, while the vessel was underway from Point Noir to Lagos.

According to Dryad Global, this incident is coming barely two months after a Bulk carrier, Vinalines Mighty was attacked and boarded by three pirates 40 nautical miles off Bonny on the 31st day of December, 2019.

In the report released on Friday, Dryad Global stated that, “Report indicates that the container vessel, Maersk Team while underway from Pointe Noir to Lagos, is currently under attack at 90 nautical miles, North West Sao Tome.

“Two unknown men are believed to have boarded the vessel and two skiffs were seen in the vicinity of the attack. Further reporting suggests that the crew members have reached the citadel.”

“The vessel is currently drifting 200 nautical miles, South West Bonny and 40 nautical miles, South East of the Eastern fringe of the Nigerian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

“This latest incident sits 40 nautical miles South East of a boarding incident which occured on the 31 of Dec 2019 where the Bulk carrier VINALINES MIGHTY was boarded by three pirates. “This latest incident is the 5th incident to occur within the Nigeria – Sao Tome JDZ since November 2019.

“It is assessed that after a brief hiatus, pirates have returned to an area that saw considerable success within 2019. Pirates operating within this area are assessed to be seeking to exploit the relative lack of established security presence in the waters beyond the Nigerian EEZ.”