Pirates attack tanker off the coast of Benin, ‘kidnapping 13 Russian & Ukrainian sailors’ 

The chemical tanker Curacao Trader was attacked by pirates on Friday, some 210 miles (around 338km) off the coast of Benin, in West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea, the vessel’s Greek operator said as cited by the Maritime Bulletin. 

The armed perpetrators boarded the ship and kidnapped "13 out of its 19 Ukranian and Russian crew members." The vessel has been left drifting since the attack, due to the lack of manpower, but another ship has been sent to assist it. 

The Gulf of Guinea, which is surrounded by eight oil-exporting countries, has become a major pirate hotspot in recent years. In 2019, it accounted for 90 percent of all kidnappings at sea, according to the International Maritime Bureau.