Priority Broadcast Alert – West Africa

UPDATE02: Ambrey received information that the armed individuals had disembarked the vessel and left the area of interest. Upon the boarding, the vessel was observed decreasing its speed from 9 knots to 0.6 knots in 20 minutes before beginning to drift in the area of interest. At the time of writing, the tanker had changed course and was en route to Libreville, Gabon.

UPDATE01: A tanker was reportedly boarded by three armed individuals while loitering 41NM southeast of Santo António, São Tomé and Príncipe. The vessel, en route from Lome, Togo to Douala, Cameroon, had been drifting in the area of interest for approximately an hour when the boarding occurred. The vessel had an estimated freeboard of 5.1m when the boarding took place. Maritime authorities stated that gunfire had been reported aboard the vessel. At the time of writing, the crew had retreated to the citadel. No casualties had been reported. Ambrey assessed the incident as ongoing and will provide updates when available.
ADVICE: Ambrey advises vessels review their risk and vulnerabilities prior to transiting through areas of elevated threat and proportionately engage armed security where feasible.

Ambrey is aware of an incident 41NM southeast of Santo António, São Tomé and Príncipe. Ambrey is investigating and will follow up with all relevant details.