Pirates have kidnapped 15 crew members from a tanker named Davide B in the Gulf of Guinea, Dutch shipping company Poli Shipmanagement said in a statement Friday (March 12).
Read also: Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea: "Faced with this insecurity, we need an international military presence"
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Six other sailors are unharmed and are still aboard the vessel, currently assisted by security personnel who have arrived at the scene.
Davide B was attacked while sailing some 210 nautical miles south of Cotonou, Benin,
”she added, adding that the incident took place around 3:00 p.m. GMT on Thursday.
"
The first priority now is to establish contact with the missing crew in order to secure their release,
" said Poli Shipmanagement, saying "she is
very concerned about the attack on her ship and the sailors."
"
According to the Dutch company, the Davide B, a tanker built in 2016 and flying the Maltese flag, was on a “
commercial trip
” between Riga in Latvia and Lagos in Nigeria.