Monjasa Recovers Kidnapped Bunker Tanker Crew in West Africa

The tanker was recovered on March 30. Image Credit: Monjasa

Global marine fuel supplier and trading firm Monjasa has recovered the remaining crew members that had been kidnapped from one of its tankers in West Africa after a hijacking in March.

All six of the seafarers kidnapped from the Monjasa Reformer have now been safely recovered from an undisclosed location in Nigeria, the company said in an emailed statement on Monday.

"All recovered crew members are in a relatively good health condition given the difficult circumstances they have been under in the last more than five weeks," Anders Østergaard, CEO of Monjasa, said in the statement.

"They have all been receiving medical checks and are now being repatriated to their home countries to reunite with their families.

"We are immensely grateful for the support received from our professional advisors, navies and authorities and to all others who have helped us resolve this awful situation."

The 13,700 DWT tanker was boarded by pirates off Port Pointe-Noire on March 25. The vessel was subsequently found abandoned on March 30 with only 10 of the 16 crew on board, with the remainder kidnapped and taken to shore in Nigeria.

The vessel has already resumed commercial operations in the region, a company spokesman told Ship & Bunker.

The firm has called for international cooperation to address the piracy problem in the region.

"Unfortunately, this and other recent and similar hijackings in the Gulf of Guinea clearly demonstrates the need for joint international political action to face these issues once and for all," the company said in Monday's statement.

"In the West Africa region, Monjasa urges for safe passage routes and safe zones under an international coalition and we will continue working with our partners, authorities and fellow shipowners for a safe working environment for all seafarers."