Maersk’s boxship boarded by pirates, crew accounted for

A 4,500 TEU containership Maersk Cadiz has been boarded by pirates while en route from Tema, Ghana to Kiribi, Cameroon.

The Singapore-flagged containership is owned by the world’s largest container shipping company Maersk.

“We can confirm that on 19 December 2020 at app. 14:30 local time, criminals engaged in a boarding of the Maersk Cadiz,” the company said in an emailed statement to Offshore Energy – Green Marine.

As informed, Nigerian navy vessel and escort vessels are on the scene securing the vicinity of Maersk Cadiz.

All 21 crew are confirmed safe and accounted for and the vessel is secured.

The latest boarding is being reported in the wake of a surge of attacks in the Gulf of Guinea over the past five weeks.

“We are very concerned about the increased security risk from armed attacks on merchant vessels in the area. We were very fortunate this time, and our crew on Maersk Cadiz are all safe. However, the risk has reached a level where local governments and the international community must take action to deal effectively with an unacceptable situation,” says Palle Laursen, Chief Technical Officer A.P. Moller – Maersk.