CAPTION: The ill-fated KOTA BUDI
A general cargo vessel was boarded by heavily armed suspected pirates who kidnapped five crew members at about 153 nm south west off the coast of Cotonou, Benin, on 2 July.
The ship was identified by Dryad Intl as KOTA BUDI, a Singapore-flagged and managed general cargo ship.
Initial reports said that the ship left Warri in Nigeria on June 23 and was cruising in loops near attack position from Jun 24 until Jul 2, destination unknown, probably waiting for orders.
According to the ship owner, Pacific International Lines, the five kidnapped crew members who were Chinese included the captain of the vessel. The remaining 15 crew were unharmed.
After the attack, KOTA BUDI steamed south, in the morning July 3 stopped moving, and was still adrift as of 1300 UTC July 3.
The attack on KOTA BUDI comes hours after pirates attacked BW Offshore's Sendje Berge FPSO and kidnapped several crew members.
Security intelligence group; Dryad Global first reported the attack on the 349 meters-long FPSO on Thursday, citing a "high confidence" source.
Owners of the ship; BW Offshore later released a statement confirming the attack had indeed happened and that nine crew members were kidnapped, and not 11 as initially reported.
The company said: "On 2 July 2020, at approximately 4:20 am local time, BW Offshore's FPSO Sendje Berge was subject to an attack by pirates offshore Nigeria in which nine Nigerian nationals were kidnapped."
"The incident onboard the FPSO has ended and none of those remaining onboard have suffered physical injuries. BW Offshore is cooperating with local authorities, represented on site by the Nigerian Navy, BW Offshore expects to provide further updates as more information becomes available."
While the latest piracy report figures for the second quarter of 2020 are awaiting to be published by the International Maritime Bureau, it looks likely that the number of piracy attacks in the Gulf of Guinea will surpass the 2019 figures for the same quarter.
This latest kidnapping brings the total of number of kidnappings at sea in the Gulf of Guinea this year to 78, according to figures collated by Dryad Global, which is a 26% increase compared to the same time period in 2019.
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