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increases. To maintain manoeuvring skills, BastøFosen’s procedures will require their staff to perform manual
transits on a regular basis.
9.3 Maritime Piracy Reports
9.3.1 Two Kidnappings in Three Days in Gulf of Guinea – (Maritime Executive)
2019-11-04 15:41:32 On Monday, four seafarers were kidnapped from the 95,000 dwt tanker Elka Aristotle off
the coast of Togo, according to the Togolese Navy.
"Around 0300, the tanker boat Elka Aristotle was
attacked around 10 nautical miles from the port of
Lome by armed individuals," said the service in a
statement. According to Reuters, the Elka
Aristotle had at least one guard on board, but the
security force's attempts to fend off the attackers
were not successful.
A guard was shot and wounded in the exchange,
and the pirates proceeded to abduct four out of the
24 seafarers on board. The victims include one
Greek national, one Georgian and two Philippine
nationals.
The rest of the crew and the vessel herself are safe, operator European Product Tankers Ltd. told Greek media in
a statement. As of Monday night, the Elka Aristotle was still anchored off Lome.
"We cannot comment in detail at the present time, except to say that the safety and security of our people is of
paramount importance to us and we are doing everything we can to ensure their prompt and safe release," said
European Product Carriers in a statement.
The Greek government - including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Maritime and Island Policy
- is informed and is monitoring the situation.
Second kidnapping in three days The incident follows shortly after the kidnapping of nine seafarers from the
Norwegian-flagged freighter Bonita off the coast of neighbouring Benin. On Saturday morning, pirates boarded
the Bonita at an anchorage about eight nautical miles off the Port of Cotonou. They abducted the master and eight
other crew members, according to authorities in Benin.
"The Ugland Emergency Response Team are handling this situation as per contingency plans, and they are in
contact with relevant authorities," said operator JJ Ugland. "The families of the crew members have been contacted
and will be kept informed." The Bonita, her remaining crew members and her cargo of gypsum docked safely in
Cotonou later the same day.
Kidnapped from Swire Anchor Handler in Gulf of Guinea – (Maritime Executive)
2019-11-25 13:55:43: Singapore-based offshore
vessel operator Swire Pacific Offshore (SPO)
confirmed Sunday that pirates attacked the anchor
handler Pacific Warden off the coast of Equatorial
Guinea last week.
Last Wednesday, at about 0500 local time, a group of
attackers boarded the Pacific Warden while she was
supporting offshore field operations off Equatorial
Guinea. Seven crew members out of 15 on board were
taken by the attackers and are still missing.

The local authorities and the Navy of Equatorial Image - courtesy Swire Offshore
Guinea responded quickly to the incident, Swire said.

The eight other crew members and the vessel itself are all safe.
"The safety of the people on board our vessel is always our top priority. SPO will do everything possible to secure
the safe and timely return of the missing crew members, in coordination with their families and relevant
authorities," Swire said in a statement.