All's well that ends well for crew of MSC Mandy
The six crew members who had been kidnapped from the containership “MSC Mandy” during a pirate attack about 55 miles off the coast of Cotonou (Benin), on 1 January 2019, are now free.
Seven to nine pirates with automatic firearms and knives boarded the 2,700 teu vessel, which was manned by a crew of 24. The attack on the vessel partially failed, but the pirates seized six crew members before the remaining crew managed to regain control of the ship.
After the pirates had left with the six hostages, the ship was diverted to Lagos (Nigeria). The ship was sailing through the Gulf of Guinea, an area with a high risk of piracy.
According to the latest report available from the ICC and the IMB, in the first nine months of 2018 there were more than 60 attacks on ships in the Gulf of Guinea. Especially dangerous are the coasts of Nigeria, where almost 80% of these attacks occur and whose pirates have extended their area of operations from the waters off the Niger River delta to the coasts of Benin and Ghana. Most of the attacks are still concentrated near the Bonny Island oil centre, where pirates search for victims up to 160 km from the coast. (kd)