Cyprus-flagged tanker Mattheos I pirated in West Africa
A Cyprus-flagged, Spanish-owned tanker with 23 crew members was hijacked off the coast of Benin in West Africa on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
The Mattheos 1 tanker, owned and operated by Madrid-based Consultores de Navegacion, was taken by pirates during a ship-to-ship transfer of petroleum products about 62 nautical miles southwest of the port of Cotonou and taken to an unknown location.
Spain officials say the crew of 23 has five Spaniards. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said 14 Filipino seafarers were among the crew members. The Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Cyprus has also confirmed two Ukrainians were onboard the ship.
The incident was the latest in a string of attacks on ships in the Gulf of Guinea that experts say is threatening an emerging trade hub and growing source of oil, metals and agricultural products to world markets.
Pirates in the Gulf of Guinea, which stretches from the Guinea to Angola, tend to raid ships for cash and cargo instead of hijacking the crews for huge ransoms like their counterparts off of Somalia.
The Mattheos 1 tanker, owned and operated by Madrid-based Consultores de Navegacion, was taken by pirates during a ship-to-ship transfer of petroleum products about 62 nautical miles southwest of the port of Cotonou and taken to an unknown location.
Spain officials say the crew of 23 has five Spaniards. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said 14 Filipino seafarers were among the crew members. The Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Cyprus has also confirmed two Ukrainians were onboard the ship.
The incident was the latest in a string of attacks on ships in the Gulf of Guinea that experts say is threatening an emerging trade hub and growing source of oil, metals and agricultural products to world markets.
Pirates in the Gulf of Guinea, which stretches from the Guinea to Angola, tend to raid ships for cash and cargo instead of hijacking the crews for huge ransoms like their counterparts off of Somalia.