Maritime kidnapping of crew members in the Gulf of Guinea

In areas where maritime pirates are particularly active, kidnappings for ransom are a known risk for companies doing business.

Our mission

While at anchor off the coast of Benin, one of our client’s vessels was boarded by Nigerian pirates. Nine crew members, including the vessel’s captain, were kidnapped by the pirates. Once the pirates had escaped, the alarm was raised and authorities were notified by the remaining crew. To deal with the situation, the client contacted Crisis24.

Our solutions

• Crisis24 immediately assigned four people to the case:
  • Three response consultants were deployed to the client’s location in Europe and Benin in order to conduct a debriefing.
  • A specialized trauma stress management consultant was sent to Benin to provide post-incident triage to the remaining crew.
• Our response consultants provided the client with advice and guidance to help them manage the crisis and negotiate with the kidnappers.
• Close to the case’s conclusion, a consultant was deployed to Nigeria with associated stakeholders to coordinate the ransom payment and victim recovery.

The result

A significantly reduced financial agreement was made with the kidnappers and, following a successful ransom delivery, all the victims were released after 36 days of captivity. Crisis24 conducted victim debriefs and they were all repatriated to their home countries.