Tanker Boarded and Robbed in First Incident in Four Years Off Nigeria
A product tanker traveling more than 100 nautical miles south of the Nigerian coast was boarded earlier this week. Security services are saying the crew was well prepared and remained safe and while it was the first recent incident, the risks remain high across the Gulf of Guinea and in West Africa.
The official report from Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade – Gulf of Guinea (MDAT-GoG) says the boarding took place on April 21 and involved four individuals. They reportedly approached the vessel at high speed in a black-hulled craft and remained aboard for nearly four hours taking personal property and equipment from the vessel before fleeing.
Security consultants Neptune P2P Group is highlighting that the captain and crew were well-prepared and followed mitigation recommendations quickly fleeing to the citadel where they remained during the incident. The perpetrators may have tried to enter the citadel or Martin Kelly, Head of Advisor at EOS Group, speculates it was a possible attempt at kidnapping because the pirates remained aboard for nearly four hours. The crew was unharmed according to the authorities.
The official reports did not name the vessel involved, but in an unconfirmed report, Neptune P2P says it was the Sea Panther, a 13,000 dwt chemical tanker with Greek ownership and registered in the Marshall Islands. The vessel’s AIS shows it departed Lomé on April 20 and arrived on April 23 at Douala, Cameroon.
While it is the first reported incident involving a commercial vessel near Nigeria in years, the dangers remain high in the region. Yesterday, the Nigerian authorities confirmed that a well-known fashion designer from Port Harcourt had been murdered by pirates. The individual named Hope Georgewill was kidnapped on March 26 and his family reportedly paid a ransom of approximately $1,250. The police reported they recovered his body and that they also raided the pirates' hideout killing four individuals and recovering a stash of weapons, outboard motors, and other equipment.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps also reported on April 19 that one of its personnel was killed during a shootout with a pirate group. The incident took place in the Niger Delta Region.
MDAT-GoG’s data shows that in April alone there have been four incidents including an attempted robbery off Monrovia, Liberia, and boardings near Accra, Ghana, and Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire. Security services have also warned of continuing pirate group activity to the south in the region between Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé e Principe.
The current incident is reported by Neptune P2P as the fifth boarding in the Gulf of Guinea in 2025. The group highlights a 30 percent increase in activity over the same period in 2024.