Pirates off Africa’s western coast attacked a Malta-registered tanker and kidnapped three of its crew members, Romanian media have reported.

The Histria Ivory, which is manned by a Romanian crew, is believed to have come under attack on Sunday evening as it sailed in the Gulf of Guinea, around 20 nautical miles off the port of Lome in Togo.

Most of the 21 crew members on board managed to evade capture, but pirates succeeded in taking three hostage before retreating. The vessel activated a security protocol and made it to a safe anchorage area off Lome.  

The Malta-registered, 40,450 tonne vessel transports petrochemical goods between Togo and Liberia. It is owned by Romanian shipping company Histria Shipmanangement.

In a statement, Romania’s Free Trade Union of Navigators urged mariners to be on their guard in the area.

“In high-risk areas, it is necessary to increase vigilance on the bridge and tune radar for small distances to prevent any attempted attack to succeed,” the union told its members.

The Gulf of Guinea is especially dangerous for seafarers. In 2018 alone, 13 ships were fired upon, six were hijacked and 130 hostages taken in that stretch of water, leading the IMB piracy reporting centre to rank it the world’s leading piracy hotspot.