Nine crew members were kidnapped from a Portugal-flagged LPG carrier off Equatorial Guinea on 1 December, after pirates boarded the vessel while it was sailing toward Malabo.
The attackers boarded the CGAS Saturn about 50 nautical miles west of Mbini early Monday. They rounded up the crew, stole personal belongings, and left the area with nine hostages. Four seafarers remained on board. One suffered a minor injury, likely from a stray bullet, and received medical attention on the vessel.
The 2003-built tanker is owned by Christiania Gas of Denmark. The ship moved to safe waters after the attack. The owner activated its emergency response team and is working with authorities to establish contact with the abducted crew and secure their release.
The CGAS Saturn has a freeboard of only 2.3 metres, which increases the risk of boarding in the Gulf of Guinea. The vessel has a gross tonnage of 2,708, a length of 79.94 metres, and a beam of 14.2 metres.
The Gulf of Guinea remains a persistent hotspot for maritime crime. Between January and September 2025, the region recorded 15 maritime security incidents, compared with 12 in the same period last year. Ten took place in territorial waters and were classified as armed robbery, while five were categorised as piracy. Fourteen crew members were kidnapped in the first nine months of the year.
The incident comes a month after a general cargo ship was boarded about 75 nautical miles west of Bata, Equatorial Guinea.
