OnThursday an unnamed ship was targeted by robbers at the Lome Anchorage inposition 06° 04'N, 001° 15'E, according to the InternationalMaritime Bureau (IMB).
Eightpersons in a boat are said to have come alongside and attempted to board theanchored vessel, IMB said in its latest piracy alert.
Theduty crew spotted the approach and sounded the alarm after which they identifiedthe boat with the ship’s spot light and targeted it with fire hoses.
IMBsaid the robber’s boat attempted to come along side from various directions butthe water from the fire hoses forced them to abort each time.
TheTogolese navy are said to have immediately responded and a naval vessel is saidto have arrived at the location within twenty minutes.
Fourdays earlier a tanker undergoing ship-to-ship (STS) transfer operations reportedarmed pirates on the adjacent vessel.
IMBsaid the incident took place at about 22:45 local time in position 05° 41.7'N, 001°20.2'E around 27nm south-southeast of Lome.
Theship's alarm was raised, the ship security alert system (SSAS) activated and all the crewmustered.
Meanwhile Togolese navy guards onboard the ship are said to have exchangedfire with the pirates.
Alarge skiff with eight to ten armed pirates was then spotted leaving theadjacent vessel and proceeding to the tanker.
Seeingthis, the master of the unnamed tanker instructed all crew members to retreatinto the citadel and informed the Togolese navy.
Theon board naval guards are said to have taken the necessary action to preventthe pirates from boarding the tanker.
Inthe meantime the Togolese navy dispatched two patrol boats to provideassistance which then escorted the tanker back to the anchorage.
