A Greek tanker feared hijacked off Africa has been spotted.
Africanews TV said the Centre Regional de la Securite Maritime de l'Afrique Centrale (CRESMAC) had located the 10,700-dwt Pantelena (built 2006) off Pointe Noire in the Republic of Congo on Thursday morning.
Captain Goliele Ruddy, deputy chief of operations at CRESMAC, confirmed in an interview with the TV station that the tanker had been spotted off the coast of the Republic of Congo and that it had lost signal due to inadequate technical equipment.
It was last observed on 14 August, 30km off Libreville, Gabon, where it was expected to discharge 10,000 tonnes of gasoil picked up from Lome in Togo.
The ship has 17 Georgian and two Russian seafarers on board, according to the Georgian ministry of foreign affairs.
The ministry said operator Lotus Shipping had started an investigation along with the governments of Georgia and Gabon.
Lotus has been contacted for comment.
Piracy hotspot
The Gulf of Guinea and the wider region have become a notorious hotspot of piracy and ship hijackings in recent years.
A recent report from the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) showed that all 2018 crew kidnappings have so far occurred in the Gulf of Guinea.
The number of crew kidnappings globally decreased from 41 by the second quarter in 2017 to 25 so far in 2018.
However, all of these have occurred over six incidents in the Gulf of Guinea, highlighting the higher risks in this area.
The true number of incidents in the Gulf of Guinea is believed to be “significantly higher” than what is reported to the IMB, said the report.
