OPV PM L’Her locates and assists MONJASA REFORMER
After an active search in the north-east of the Gulf of Guinea, in conjunction with its partners in the region, the French Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) Premier Maître (PM) L’Her relocated the MONJASA REFORMER and assisted its crew.
On Saturday 25 March at 22:39Z, the oil tanker MONJASA REFORMER, flying the Liberian flag, reported an attack in progress by five armed men when it was 140 nautical miles west of Pointe Noire (Congo). The crew of the MONJASA REFORMER is made up of 16 sailors of different nationalities.
This information is relayed by the Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade Gulf of Guinea (MDAT GoG), located in Brest and Portsmouth (Great Britain).
Rallying the last known position of the tanker, the French Navy’s Offshore Patrol Vessel Premier Maître L’Her, engaged in Operation Corymbe, conducted a search for the vessel in the north-east of the Gulf of Guinea, with the support of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Monrovia, as well as the support of the region’s navies, and MDAT-GoG, which ensures the link with the vessel’s owner.
On Thursday 30 March, in the early afternoon, Offshore Patrol Vessel Premier Maître L’Her relocated the MONJASA REFORMER on its way to Nigeria during a flight of her aerial drone and noticed the presence of a pirate boat alongside the ship. On CECLANT’s orders, it begins its approach. A new reconnaissance flight shows that the pirate boat is no longer alongside.
In the early evening, he received a distress message from the MONJASA REFORMER via VHF16. The crew still on board indicated that six of its members had been kidnapped by pirates. Immediately, OPV PM L’Her began a manoeuvre to rescue the ship.
The order was given to take his visiting team, including a nurse and a doctor, on board the MONJASA REFORMER. This operation was conducted in liaison with the Nigerian authorities.
At the end of the evening, an initial medical assessment was carried out and transmitted to the shipowner. Three slightly injured people were taken care of by the doctor.
The next morning, the Nigerian patrol vessel NNS Gongola arrived on site. In agreement with the shipowner, the Offshore Patrol Vessel Premier Maître L’Her escorted the MONJASA REFORMER towards the port of Lomé.
Within the framework of operation CORYMBE, France deploys one or two ships and a maritime patrol aircraft on a quasi-permanent basis in the Gulf of Guinea. They contribute to the reduction of maritime insecurity, in partnership with the coastal navies and the centres of the structure resulting from the Yaoundé process. These projections complement the French force stationed in West Africa and contribute to the maritime component of operational cooperation in the Gulf of Guinea.
