The Suezmax tanker Cap Theodora eluded a pirate attack on April 16 in the Gulf of Guinea. The ship was bound from Quebec to Usam, Nigeria when the pirates attacked, firing on the ship's bridge. The ship's crew took evasive maneuvers, issued an SSA Alert and distress call, started fire pumps to repel boarders, and secured to a safe citadel within the ship.
After about 20 minutes the pirates gave up on the attack. The ship was about 36 nautical miles WNW of Principe Island at the time of the attack.
Numerous pirate attacks in Nigeria and nearby waters recently have alarmed shipping interests. Similar to events in east Africa, these west African incidents involve hostage taking, robbery, assault, killings and even hijacking of the ships.
1. Cap Theodora seen from the front porch of my summer place in Quebec, 2012-08-09.
Cap Theodora, a Greek flagged vessel, is a regular caller at the Ultramar refinery at Lévis (St-Romuald) opposite Quebec City. Built in 2008 by Samsung in South Korea, it is a ship of 81,324 gross tons, 158,819 deadweight tonnes. It is operated by Euronav NV, which has a fleet of 30 some tankers, many, named with the word "Cap", bring crude oil to the Ultramar refinery. Euronav is a publicly traded Luxembourg company, with ties to the Belgian Saverys family and the Greek Livanos family.