Pirates kidnap 13 tanker crew in Gulf of Guinea

The Russian Embassy in Nigeria has confirmed that 13 sailors were abducted by pirates following an attack on a chemical tanker in the Gulf of Guinea on Friday, July 17.

The unauthorised boarding of the Liberian-flagged Curacao Trader occurred some 230 nautical miles off Lagos, Nigeria, at around 11:00 UTC, the embassy said through its official Twitter account.

Vessel manager Alison Management Corporation said the hostages included both Russian and Ukrainian nationals and that six crew remain on board the tanker.

Curacao Trader‘s AIS transponder was reportedly shut off shortly after the pirates attacked the vessel. The transponder signal reappeared nearly eight hours later, but at a position some distance south of where the attack took place.

The tanker eventually arrived at the Port of Cotonou in Benin at 19:50 local time on Sunday, July 19.