A Hapag-Lloyd container vessel has reportedly been boarded by pirates in a rare attack off South America.
The 4,612-teu Dusseldorf Express (built 1998) was targeted on Friday morning 40 nautical miles (74 km) south-west of Cartagena.
Security consultancy Ambrey said the Bermuda-flagged panamax was boarded by five people as it approached the port, but the crew retreated to the citadel and was unharmed.
The ship was tracked slowing to a drift from a consistent 13 knots.
The vessel then drifted 21 nautical miles in a south-westerly direction for more than 12 hours, before proceeding 23 nautical miles north-east at 14 knots.
The ship then drifted a second time for another 10 hours overnight into Saturday morning.
The Dusseldorf Express then headed to Cartagena at 18 knots, arriving on Saturday afternoon.
Ambrey said it understands the Colombian Coast Guard intended to question the captain while in port.
The German unit had earlier called at Manzanillo International Terminal (MIT) in Colon, Panama.
AIS data showed the ship underway 10 hours ago off the north coast of South America.
Hapag-Lloyd told TradeWinds: "We can confirm that pirates entered our vessel. However, no crew member got harmed and the situation could soon be cleared."
Nigerian approach
Ambrey also said a Turkish supramax bulker — the 56,000-dwt Manta Asli (built 2004) — reported a suspicious approach on Friday, 39 nautical miles south of Brass, Nigeria.
A speedboat with eight people on board closed to 0.3 nautical miles and the crew mustered in the citadel.
The Manta Denizcilik Nakliyat-operated vessel, unescorted at the time, appears to have increased speed from 13.9 knots to 14.8 knots and performed an evasive manoeuvre. Ambrey added that the criminals reportedly abandoned the pursuit given the bulker's estimated 12-metre freeboard.
At the time of the incident, the vessel was underway from the ENL Consortium terminal in Lagos, Nigeria, heading towards Douala, Cameroon.
The US Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration has updated its advice for shipping in the Gulf of Guinea.
Significant threat
The agency said kidnapping remains a significant threat, despite the US Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) reporting 97 incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea last year up to 22 December — which is down 24% on 2019.
While boardings and attempted boardings to rob vessels are the most common types of incidents, almost one third of all attacks involve a hijacking or kidnapping.
About half of all incidents of piracy and armed robbery took place off Nigeria, which is a decrease from the 71% seen in 2019, and indicates that pirates are travelling further to target vessels.
ONI reported 27 kidnappings, three combined hijackings and kidnappings, and two hijackings in 2020.
"It is not uncommon for these groups to fire upon vessels during boardings and attempted boardings," ONI said.
Officers particularly at risk
ONI added that the gunmen "generally kidnap two to six high-value crew members to include the master, chief engineer, and any Western crew members, but there were several incidents over the past couple of years where 10 or more crew members were kidnapped at one time".
Kidnapped crew members are normally taken ashore in the Niger Delta region, where pirate groups demand ransom payments.
