The attempted piracy attack on MT ENDO PONENTE in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) has been successfully foiled, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has announced.
The agency which is the Designated Authority (DA) by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said in a statement at the weekend that on Friday, 28th August 2025, the Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) team of the Togo Navy boarded the vessel and confirmed that all crew members were safe, with no material damage recorded onboard.
According to NIMASA which presently has Dr. Dayo Mobereola as its Director General, the ship is now under the custody of the Togo Navy which promptly reported the situation to the Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre (MMCC), Zone E, under the Yaoundé Architecture for maritime security in the GoG which covers Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Niger Republic.
The statement which was signed by its Deputy Director and Head of Public Relations, Mr. Edward Osagie and made available to Maritime Bits stated that the operation underscores the value of regional cooperation.
Continuing, it stated that MMCC Zone F with headquarter in Accra, Ghana, provided constant monitoring and information-sharing with all relevant stakeholders throughout the incident.
The agency recalled that its Special Mission Vessel, DB Lagos, operated by the Nigerian Navy under the Deep Blue Project was deployed following confirmation of the attempted attack at the NIMASA C4i Centre in Lagos.
“Investigations are currently ongoing to establish the identity of the attackers”, it added.
Maritime Bits checks revealed that ENDO PONENTE is a moderate-risk Maltese-flagged chemical tanker generally operates across West, Central, and Southern African regions. Its last port call was at Kalamu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
