At least a dozen crew members have reportedly been abducted following a pirate attack on a European gas tanker. The LPG carrier flying the flag of Portugal was assaulted off Equatorial Guinea on the western coast of Africa early Monday.
The CGas Saturn, constructed in 2003 and owned by Denmark’s Christiania Gas, was en route to Malabo, the capital of the country, when the incident occurred approximately 50 nautical miles west of Mbini, as confirmed by security firm Vanguard.
As per maritime publication Splash 247, four crew members remained on the vessel, with one allegedly sustaining injuries from a stray bullet during the attack.
According to Statista, approximately 116 ships globally were targeted by pirates last year, signifying a decline from the peak in 2010 when around 445 incidents were reported. The Gulf of Guinea stands out as a piracy hotspot, with the majority of attacks concentrated around Nigeria’s Niger Delta. The International Maritime Bureau reported 15 incidents in the region during the first nine months of 2025, with ten incidents occurring within territorial waters classified as armed robbery and the remaining five categorized as piracy.