Two crew members have been seized after pirate groups boarded an LNG carrier and a tanker off West Africa.
The first incident involved Golar LNG Partners' 138,000-cbm Methane Princess (built 2003), which was attacked while at anchor off Malabo in Equatorial Guinea on 17 October.
The ship was at the Punta Europa anchorage after it finished loading operations when the raid took place, according to security consultancies Dryad Global and Ambrey.
The alarm was sounded and all crew members on deck were able to retreat to the citadel, Dryad said.
But there were two Filipinos on the jetty and both were taken hostage.
Seafarer escaped
One of these men jumped off the pirate boat and was rescued, but sustained injuries.
Another crewman was injured entering the citadel.
No shots were fired, while the Equatorial Guinea navy was on scene within 35 to 40 minutes.
A navy patrol vessel arrived in 45 minutes and the Wele Nzas frigate arrived within the hour.
Navy and ministry personnel conducted post-event inquiries, and the vessel departed on time to its next port.
The pirate vessel's direction of travel remains unverified, Dryad said.
The company added that the ship had arrived at Punta Europe a day before the incident, which is the 20th kidnapping reported in the Gulf of Guinea in 2020.
"It must be a massive concern for the government in Equatorial Guinea, because exports from there have a strategic importance," Risk Intelligence senior analyst Dirk Siebels told TradeWinds.
"There were two naval vessels arriving within an hour, but I would have expected more of a security presence directly at the terminal; not sure what was wrong there but details were all a bit thin over the weekend with investigations ongoing."
Kidnappings down on 2019
Dryad added that despite large numbers of kidnapped crew members during the first half of 2020, it remains below the same period in 2019.
"Incident volumes have historically increased between September and December as maritime conditions improve," the consultancy said.
Golar has been contacted for further information.
On the same day, 115 nautical miles (213 km) south of Lome in Togo, the Parakou Group's 50,000-dwt MR tanker PTI Nile (built 2016) was reported boarded, with all crew accounted for after making it to the citadel.
Dryad said the vessel was conducting a northerly transit and was bound for Lome when it was attacked.
The tanker appeared to have conducted evasive manoeuvres to the starboard side initially, before coming to a halt.
Quick response
Siebels said the tanker issued a distress call and the Togo navy sent a patrol boat very quickly to provide assistance and escort the vessel to Lome. Ghana's navy also responded and searched the area around the attack.
Dryad added: "While precise details regarding the nature of the attack and the welfare of the crew remain unclear, this incident is the second incident within 24 hours within the wider Gulf of Guinea area following a month’s hiatus of serious offshore incidents."
Parakou Group has been contacted for comment.
On 5 October, Dryad reported a single "credible" source had warned of a potential attack by a pirate gang known to have kidnapped crew members from a Greek tanker off West Africa earlier this year.
The source warned a raid could occur in a region including the waters around Togo and Benin, the wider Nigerian exclusive economic zone and the joint development zone between Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe.
