Suspected Niger River Delta pirates operating in the Gulf of Guinea have kidnapped 13 sailors from two ships in the last several days.  The first abductions took place early Saturday morning at the port of Cotonou in Benin. Pirates kidnapped nine crew members, including the ship’s captain, from the 58,105 DWT, Norwegian flag, JJ Ugland owned bulker, Bonita.

Then on Monday, pirates attacked the Greek, 94,000 DWT product tanker, Elka Aristotle, off the coast of Togo abducting four of the 24-member crew. 

Marine Log reports that the region accounts for 86% of crew taken hostage and nearly 82% of crew kidnappings globally, according to the most recent quarterly piracy report from the International Maritime Bureau.

“Although incidents are down, the Gulf of Guinea continues to be a concern for piracy and armed robbery-related activities with kidnappings of crew members increasing in both scale and frequency,” said International Maritime Bureau Director Pottengal Mukundan. “It is important that shipmasters and owners continue to report all actual, attempted, and suspected incidents to ensure that an accurate picture of these attacks emerge and action is taken against these criminals before the incidents further escalate.”