Five Spaniards were part of the crew of Cypriot registered tanker which has been hijacked by pirates when 60 miles from the coast of Togo in the Gulf of Guinea. The ‘Mattheos 1’ was travelling with a crew of 23 when sailing between Benin and Togo when it was attacked by a group of armed men. It did not have its own security. The owner of the vessel, the Madrid company, Consultores de Navegación, confirmed to Spanish National Television that there were 5 Spaniards, reported to be from Galicia, onboard, four officials and an apprentice. Company sources think it could be a theft of their cargo, and not a kidnapping as such. Pirates in the same area also attacked a Norwegian vessel as it was transferring its cargo, but in that case the crew locked themselves in the engine room and the intruders eventually left the ship. The Spanish Foreign Ministry is reported to be watching events closely. The Gulf of Guinea is a key area for Spain’s energy supply of imported crude oil from countries such as Nigeria.
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