Five Chinese seafarers have been abducted from a Pacific International Lines (PIL) general cargoship off Benin.
Security consultancy Dryad Global said the 27,378-dwt Kota Budi (built 2013) was boarded by "heavily armed men" late on 2 July, 153 miles south-west of Cotonou.
Risk Intelligence said those taken include the master and chief engineer.
PIL confirmed the attack in a statement to TradeWinds.
"Five Chinese crew members including the master were taken from the vessel and presumed kidnapped," it said.
"The vessel and remaining 15 crew members on board are safe and healthy, and measures have been put in place to ensure their safety and the well-being of all on board."
It added: "PIL is currently working with the flag state, local authorities and contacts to establish the whereabouts of the missing master and crew, and is taking strenuous and urgent steps to ensure their well-being and safe return."
This is the seventh incident in the waters off Benin in 2020. Dryad said it brings the total number of seafarers kidnapped in 2020 off West Africa to 80.
Abductions are 26% higher this year than in 2019.
Dryad cited its sources with a "high" level of confidence, which usually indicates navy reporting.
Two attacks in a day
The last AIS update from 1 July shows the vessel underway in the Gulf of Guinea.
The raid — a typical pirate operation — came on the same day that a BW Offshore FPSO was attacked off Nigeria by gunmen who kidnapped nine crew in what security consultancies called a "unique" attack.
The 50,000-barrel-per day FSPO Sendje Berge (built 1974) was targeted by an unknown number of armed men in the early hours, 30 miles south west of Bonny Island.
The sophistication and explosive weaponry used in the kidnapping suggested an action by a militant group, sources said.
These groups have pulled out of a ceasefire deal with the Nigerian government, after it refused to sack Niger Delta officials the groups view as corrupt.
