An LNG carrier owned by Golar LNG Partners has been reportedly attacked and boarded by pirates shortly after discharging a cargo at the Punta Europa terminal in Equatorial Guinea.
The incident took place on October 17 resulting in one hostage taken. The carrier in question is the 2003-built 138,000-cbm Methane Princess, according to the UK-based maritime security agency Dryad Global.
Pirates boarded the Shell-chartered LNG carrier whilst at anchor off Malabo, shortly after breaking off loading operations, the agency said.
The LNG carrier’s crew members sounded the alarm and all on deck were able to retreat to citadel. However, the pirates kidnapped two Filipino nationals working on the jetty.
Furthermore, one of the hostages managed to escape by jumping off of the pirate vessel but sustained injuries. Additionally, one person entering the citadel was also injured.
According to the agency, the pirates didn’t fire any shots. Equatorial Guinea Navy was on scene within 35-40 minutes and Navy patrol vessel arrived in 45 minutes.
Following the incident, the LNG tanker departed on time to the next port while the pirate vessel direction of travel remains unverified, it said.
Dryad added that this latest incident marks the 20th recorded kidnapping event in the Gulf of Guinea within 2020.