Yesterday, a raid was committed off the coast of Benin in West Africa on a ship managed by a Dutch company, the company reports to the NOS. Fifteen crew members have been kidnapped, the other six have been left on board and are doing well.
The tanker Davide B sailed under the flag of Malta, but was managed by the company De Poli Tankers from Barendrecht. The crew members are from the Philippines, Russia and two Baltic states, a spokesman said. The ship was en route from the Latvian capital of Riga to Lagos in Nigeria.
The raid was nearly 340 kilometers south of the coast of Benin. The kidnappers supposedly took the crew members to one of the nearby countries to demand a ransom.
The Poli Tankers hopes in any case to be able to enter into “a dialogue”. “Our primary concern is to notify all family members and get the crew members left behind safely ashore.” Security officers have been sent to the Davide B to take care of them.
More robberies
To be found in the Gulf of Guinea increasingly robberies or hijackings take place. Last September pirates attacked another Groningen ship and kidnapped two crew members. In January, a person was killed in an attack on a container ship, the other crew members were kidnapped and released after a few weeks.
The Barendrecht company says that the crew members of their ships are prepared for such dangers. There is also “visible and non-visible security” on board.
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