Success 9, the Singapore oil tanker that was hijacked by pirates off Ivory Coast on Monday, with one Singaporean on board the vessel, still remains uncontactable; according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, who cited the owner of the ship.
MPA said in an updated statement on Thursday that they have contacted the other authorities in the region, along with the Monrovia Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre and the Ivory Coast and Ghanaian authorities.
They have deployed their air and sea assets to the last know position of the Singapore vessel.
The owner of the oil tanker, HS Ocean, said that the vessel had about 20 crew members on board at the time when it was hijacked by the pirates about 300 nautical miles off Abidjan, near Ivory Coast, and that one of the crew members is a Singaporean.
The Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade – Gulf of Guinea, also issued an update on the hijacking situation yesterday afternoon (13 April), saying:
“Vessel previously reported as boarded is unlocated and not transmitting on automatic identification systems.”
They also urged the vessels in the vicinity to report any sighting of the ship, as well as any suspicious activity, describing the ship as a “black-hulled tanker with a white superstructure, white funnel with blue stripes”
S’pore Maritime and Port Authority’s updated statement
The owner of “SUCCESS 9” has updated the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) that they are still unable to establish communications with the vessel.
Apart from the Monrovia Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, MPA has reached out to the other authorities in the region, including the Ivory Coast and the Ghana authorities for assistance. The Ivory Coast authorities have deployed their air and sea assets to the vicinity of the last known position of the vessel.