The attempted piracy attack on MT ENDO PONENTE in the Gulf of Guinea has been successfully foiled.
The ill-fated ENDO PONENTE is a moderate-risk Maltese-flagged chemical tanker which generally operates across West, Central, and Southern African regions. Its last port call was at Kalamu, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Recall that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) had last Friday confirmed the attempted piracy attack on a chemical tanker off Lome, Togo.
In a statement issued on Friday and signed by its Head, Public Relations, Mr Osagie Edward, it was confirmed that: “At 20:53hrs on Thursday, August 28, 2025, the C4i Centre of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) received an alert from the Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade (MDAT) Gulf of Guinea Watchkeepers regarding an attempted boarding of the Malta-flagged chemical tanker, ENDO PONENTE, at position 05°10’N, 001°23’E, close to Lome Port, Togo”.
Giving further details, the statement added that, “Intelligence gathered from the C4i Centre later placed the vessel at 04°19’16”N, 01°35’59”E, within Ghana’s Exclusive Economic Zone. The NIMASA Special Mission Vessel DB Lagos, operated by the Nigerian Navy under the Deep Blue Project, was immediately alerted and is currently closing in on the distressed vessel”
“The crew have retreated to the Citadel in line with international best practice for ship security.
NIMASA is actively coordinating with the Nigerian Navy and other regional maritime security agencies to ensure the safety of the crew and to support ongoing investigations into the incident”, the statement had hinted.
However, on Sunday, in another statement signed by Mr Osagie, NIMASA confirmed that the Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS), team of the Togo Navy has boarded the vessel and confirmed that all crew members were safe, with no material damage recorded onboard.
The statement added that “The ship is now under the custody of the Togo Navy, who promptly reported the situation to the Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre, MMCC, Zone E, under the Yaoundé Architecture for maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, which covers Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Niger Republic”.
“This operation underscores the value of regional cooperation. MMCC Zone F, headquartered in Accra, Ghana, provided constant monitoring and information-sharing with all relevant stakeholders throughout the incident”, it stated.
It will be recalled that the NIMASA Special Mission Vessel, DB Lagos, operated by the Nigerian Navy under the Deep Blue Project, was deployed following confirmation of the attempted attack at the NIMASA C4i Centre in Lagos.
Investigations are currently ongoing to establish the identity of the attackers, NIMASA concluded.
