Impoverished coastal communities and stranded seafarers are easy marks for malefactors, International Union of Marine Insurance hears

The Gulf of Guinea is considered a greater risk area following recent piracy attacks further out from Nigeria’s economic zone. Better policing and ship security measures may have pushed pirates further afield in search of easier targets

An unknown number of pirates boarded the ship early on Tuesday. The remaining 16 crew were reported safe and unhurt. The Nigerian navy is escorting the ship to berth in Lagos

An unknown number of pirates has boarded the Seatrade reefer ship Water Phoenix, taking two of its 18 crew hostage. Nigerian waters remain the most dangerous for pirate attacks

The seven seas are an unforgiving environment and heavy seas, storms, hurricanes and danger are ever present. Over 100 merchant seafarers died last year

The 13 crew kidnapped from the product tanker Curacao Trader off Benin on July 17 have been released, shipmanager Alison Management says. The crew are being held at a Nigerian navy base for medical checks before they can be sent home — but virus restrictions have complicated the process

The EU Naval Force said Aegean II was not hijacked, but it was investigating ‘certain incidents on board the vessel’

Maritime police — or pirates dressed like them — from Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region boarded the chemical tanker Aegean II after it developed engine problems in the Socotra Gap. There was a dispute concerning its security team’s weapons, according to reports

Six pirates were reported to have boarded the chemical tanker Aegean II transiting the Horn of Africa 180 nautical miles southwest of Socotra. But Dryad Global saw no indications of piracy and said maritime crime was more likely