Sea-Phantom

After the attack on Feb 7 it appeared the pirates were unable to evict the crew from the safe area and subsequently left the ship, leaving crew safe and able to later leave the citadel and make their way to Malabo and safety. It seems the chase before the eight pirates succeeded in boarding the tanker, took up quite a while, with the waves created by the vessel’s high speed and sudden manoeuvres making it difficult for the pirates to succeed in boarding. When they did finally climb on board the crew were in a safe position in the citadel while the ship continued sailing rapidly towards the distant coast and safe zone. Having gone too far and presumably running out of time and maybe patience, the pirates departed the ship having failed in their attempt. The crew were then able to come out from their sanctuary and take the ship to safety in Malabo later on Feb 7.

The 'Sea Phantom' was attacked by pirates on Feb 7, 2021, at 11.18 p.m. in the Gulf of Guinea southwest of Douala. The ship awas en route from Lome to Douala and was in pos. 02 00.0N 008 15.0E. The tanker was boarded by pirates after chasing the vessel on a speedboat. The ship was sailing at 12.7 knots and had then had taken evasive action prior to being boarded, speeding up and changing direction before turning sharply to starboard and then coming to a halt. The tanker was drifting on the ocean, an indication that the crew had shut the engines down and have possible taken shelter in the citadel which was not positively known.