A lone intruder was thwarted in an attempt to steal from an AP Moller-Maersk boxship off the coast of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday.
Piracy reporting organisations said the 1,118-teu Maersk Regensburg (built 2006) was at an anchorage off Banana, 3 nautical miles (5.5 km) from shore when a raider was spotted on deck.
He was seen by the duty crew removing lashing, which prompted the alarm to be raised and the crew to be mustered, according to security consultancy Dryad.
The intruder then fled the vessel in a small boat with an outboard motor.
A search was then conducted and no other abnormalities were noted. One container had a lashing bar removed, however.
Incident downplayed
The crew is safe, Copenhagen-headquartered Maersk told TradeWinds.
The liner operator downplayed the gravity of the incident, calling it minor and not describing it as piracy.
Dryad said: "This is only the second incident in this location within the last 12 months. Incident reporting within this area remains sparse and limited to boarding for theft."
The vessel was heading from Pointe Noire in neighbouring Congo.
The last update from its AIS shows it heading up the Congo river later on Monday. It does not have a recorded destination.
