The Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said there has been "no contact" made with the Singapore-registered tanker Success 9 believed to have been boarded by pirates off Cote d’Ivoire on April 10.
MPA said the owner of the "Success 9" tanker made an update to the MPA — which also administers the Singapore Registry of Ships — and noted that it remains unable to reach the vessel a few days after it was believed to have been hijacked.
The 6,135 dwt chemical tanker was said to have been boarded by pirates at around 1400hrs (UTC) on April 10, about 300 nautical miles off Cote d’Ivoire in the Gulf of Guinea.
"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," MPA said in its update.
It added that the Ivory Coast authorities have deployed their air and sea assets to the vicinity of the last known position of the vessel.
The MPA earlier said there were 20 crew of various nationalities onboard the vessel, including one Singapore national.
"MPA is working closely with the shipowner, Monrovia Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre and the Information Fusion Centre at the Changi Command and Control Centre to monitor the situation and render the necessary assistance," it said.
Reports said the 2003-built tanker is managed by Fortune Ship Management Pte Ltd — a part of the Singapore-bunkering company and shipowner, Hai Soon Group — and owned by HS Ocean Pte Ltd.
Praesidium International, an Italian private security firm, said in an update that the tanker was reported as boarded by an "unknown number of people" around 300 nm south of Abidjan, a coastal city in Côte d’Ivoire.
The report noted that the vessel could have been targeted for oil theft as it is involved in bunkering operations in the area.
