*15 crew members kidnapped
Lagos — Indications are that the Maltese flagged MT DAVIDE B (IMO9721750) has been boarded by 9 armed individuals 213nm South Cotonou and 15 of the 21 crew reported kidnapped.
Those kidnapped consists of Ukrainian, Romanian and Philippine nationals
The vessel was seen transiting ENE at 9.6kts, course 65° before her speed fell to 2.9kts and the AIS signal was lost.
The incident appears to have occurred 9nm SE of the edge of the Nigerian EEZ and is near to where a number of vessels will look to RV with Nigerian SEV. Vessels within this area are at a unique vulnerability in that they are generally operating within waters beyond the operational footprint of regional security forces.
In 2020 there were 5 incidents including kidnapping that occurred within 30nm of the reported incident.
Dryad Global urged operators to note that the risk to vessel and crew when operating within the JWC-025 extended HRA is SEVERE. As such all vessels are recommended to ensure full compliance with BMP5 recommendations and ensure maximum hardening and mitigation are employed for operations within this area.