A Hafnia product tanker is reported to have thwarted a potential pirate attack off Ghana on Tuesday morning.
The piracy reporting body Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade — Gulf of Guinea (MDAT-GoG) said a vessel had been approached while transiting from Lome in Togo to Abidjan in Ivory Coast, 74 nautical miles (137 km) south-east of Takoradi.
MDAT-GoG said a speedboat was seen with nine to 10 people and a ladder on board.
Security consultancy Ambrey said a Danish-flagged ship was involved, while another consultancy, Dryad Global, named the vessel as the 52,000-dwt Hafnia Phoenix (built 2013).
Ships in the area have been advised to increase vigilance and enhance security measures.
The tanker was en route from Sarroch in Italy, according to AIS data.
Singapore-based Hafnia told TradeWinds: "We can confirm that a suspicious vessel approached Hafnia Phoenix while sailing from Lome to Abidjan.
"It is unclear whether this was a pirate vessel. The captain of Hafnia Phoenix altered course and increased speed, successfully manoeuvring away from the vessel in question. The crew is fine and all relevant authorities were informed."
New Listed Area
Ambrey tracked the tanker underway at 11.8 knots prior to the approach. The vessel has since been confirmed safe, the company said.
Ambrey said: "This fits a pattern of extended offshore operations. The Lloyd’s Joint War Committee (JWC) issued a new Listed Area for the Gulf of Guinea yesterday, which has better reflected the extended operations towards the east of the Gulf of Guinea.
"But this approach, approximately 164nm outside of this area and to the west, has underscored the need to regularly review exposure in the region."
Dryad said the tanker was approached from a position to the south west.
Evasive moves paid off
"The vessel is understood to have conducted evasive manoeuvres resulting including an increase of speed," the company added, saying the ship has now continued on its way.
"The nature of the approach remains unclear at this stage; however the confirmed sighting of ladders would strongly indicate piratical intent."
Dryad data shows no pervious incidents of vessels being boarded or crew kidnapped in this immediate area.
There was another suspicious approach to a ship 40 nautical miles to the east in April, involving a skiff with a red and white hull and six or seven people on board.
And in June, Hafnia's 69,999-dwt tanker BW Tagus (built 2017) spotted a suspicious craft 250 nautical miles off the coast of Nigeria.
Ghana steps up patrols
Last week, TradeWinds reported Ghana was sending its navy and air force on patrols to help fight piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
The joint patrols will focus on the country's eastern territorial waters and be dispatched immediately.
Kidnapping from commercial ships in the Gulf of Guinea is increasingly becoming a problem for the industry, with the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reporting 77 seafarers taken off their vessels in the first six months of 2020, with 90% of those incidents in West African waters.
More recently, two Russian seafarers were kidnapped off Seatrade's 400,884-cbf reefer Water Phoenix (built 2002) near Lagos, Nigeria, on 8 September.
