A ferry has reportedly been arrested in West Africa in relation to a piracy investigation.
Security consultancy Dryad Global issued an alert saying it had received reports that the 1,200-gt Hawa III (built 1969) had been held in Libreville in Gabon on Monday.
A Gabon navy source said the ship is being investigated on suspicion of links to piracy.
The 700-passenger vessel is currently at anchor in the port.
Swedish media reports from October 2017 said the ship, then named Saga Lejon, had been sold by Royal Stockholm Cruise Line to a Swedish national planning to bring it to Togo.
Its current ownership and flag is not listed in shipping databases.
The ferry has been serving a route between Lome in Togo and Libreville since then, as well as calling in Nigeria.
No further updates have yet been received on the matter.
Four kidnappings this year
Dryad said that between January and June there have been four kidnapping incidents off Gabon.
"This represents a significant increase in activity. Within the same time period in 2019 there were no incidents reported in this location," the consultancy added.
"It remains unknown whether this vessel was indeed involved in piracy or responsible for piracy off Gabon."
It is also not known whether the news is related to an alert issued in the region on 13 June, indicating a heightened risk of piracy off Lome.
