EMEA News
Oil Cargo Confirmed Stolen in WAF Tanker Hijacking
The captain of an oil tanker that disappeared off the West African coast last week has made contact with the vessel's management company, Fairdeal Group SA (Fairdeal), reporting that everyone on board is safe, Reuters reports.
The MT Fair Artemis had previously made its last communication with the company on June 4 when it was off the coast of Ghana but had failed to make contact the next day.
"The ship was boarded by a number of pirates who have stolen the cargo and other items on the vessel," Fairdeal fleet director John Gray said in a statement Thursday.
Pirate attacks off the coast of West Africa, which often involve the theft of oil cargoes, rose by a third last year, with the piracy often linked to criminal networks based in Nigeria.
A port official had said that the captain of the Fair Artemis sent a distress signal last Friday saying the ship had been hijacked and looted in Togolese waters.
