An unknown number of seamen were kidnapped off Cameroon’s southern port city of Douala on Thursday, according to security sources.
A senior official at Douala said that the seamen were aboard a vessel in the Gulf of Guinea when the pirates attacked them.
The official added that the Navy was conducting a search and every effort was being made to secure the safe release of the sailors.
Piracy has become widespread in the Gulf of Guinea, which is situated in the northeastern most part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean.
The Gulf of Guinea was labeled by the International Maritime Bureau last month as the most dangerous area in the world for piracy. It is estimated that more than two-thirds of all sea kidnappings and 92% of hostage-takings occur there.
The IMB estimates that about 62 sailors were taken hostage or abducted in the area in the first half of 2019.
Last month 10 Turkish sailors were kidnapped by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea as they sailed from Douala to Abidjan.
