Nine Filipino sailors who were waiting in the harbor of the port of Cotonou in Benin have been abducted by suspected pirates, port authorities said Sunday.
“The Autonomous Port of Cotonou regrets to inform you that Saturday morning, November 2, 2019, an act of piracy took place in the harbor area,” authorities said in a statement.
They said it involved a ship called Bonita which was attacked “about nine miles off the entrance to the port and eight crew members plus the ship’s captain were abducted,” the port authorities said. A company spokesman told the Dagens Naeringsliv newspaper that the abducted sailors were all Filipinos.
The Norwegian owner of the ship issued a statement confirming that the “MV Bonita was boarded by pirates early Saturday morning off Cotonou/Benin while she was at anchor.”
It added that “9 crew members were taken off the vessel while she was waiting for berth to discharge inbound cargo, gypsum. Remaining crew notified local authorities and Bonita arrived alongside in Cotonou later the same day.”
The Gulf of Guinea, which extends from Cameroon to Liberia, has become one of the most dangerous maritime regions in the world.
The attacks on ships and the abductions of crew for ransom have become more frequent, especially along the Nigerian coast where the pirates come from.
The pirates sometimes divert ships for several days, long enough to plunder the cargo and demand huge ransoms before freeing the crew.
Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, where Nigeria and Angola, the two main oil producers in sub-Saharan Africa, are located has seriously disrupted international maritime transport essential to the continent at a cost of billions of dollars.
STILL VERIFYING
The Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday said they are now looking into the two separate incidents of abduction involving Filipino seafarers in Benin and Togo.
On Monday, another incident of abduction occurred in Togo where two Filipinos, one Greek sailor, and a Georgian were taken hostage after pirates boarded their ship 11 miles from the deep-sea shipping port of Lome.
“We are working to release an initial statement on the previous report of abduction in Benin this morning. This 2nd report on Togo will also need primary verification before statement release,” the DFA said in a statement.
It explained that in both countries where the incidents happened, the Philippines does not have an embassy who could possibly respond immediately.
“We have to work through our embassy in Abuja, Nigeria and their network,” said the DFA, adding that there are special considerations to follow in cases of abductions of our nationals abroad.
Benin and Togo are countries located in West Africa, an area that has become a center for maritime kidnapping. (AFP/Roy C. Mabasa)
