January 13, 2026 | 03:01 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Armed assailants boarded a fishing vessel off the coast of Gabon over the weekend. They abducted nine sailors, the Ministry of Defense reported on Monday, January 12, 2026 as cited by TRT World.
The incident on late Saturday is the latest act of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, which spans over 5,700 kilometers from Senegal to Angola off the west coast of Africa.
"This attack, perpetrated by three armed individuals, led to the abduction of nine crew members, including five Chinese nationals and four Indonesians," said Navy's Chief of Staff Hubert Bekale Meyong in a video statement broadcast by the Gabonese media on Monday.
"The trawler IB Fish 7, flying the Gabonese flag, was the victim of a pirate attack while engaged in fishing about seven nautical miles southwest of Ekwata, in Gabonese waters," he said.
Four of the captured sailors were Indonesian nationals, while the rest hailed from China and Burkina Faso. They remain on board the ship.
Authorities in Gabon located the trawler before escorting it to the port of Libreville. An investigation has been launched.
In February last year, three sailors were kidnapped at gunpoint from a fishing vessel in waters near the capital. As part of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Guinea is a key maritime route for oil and gas as it borders major oil producers in West Africa.
This location is also popular among amateur fishers, pleasure boat enthusiasts, and tourists who want to see whales off the coast of Gabon.
Read: Nigeria: 10 Kidnapped in Kwara as Gang Seizures Continue
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
Gabon: The Country with the Same Independence Day as Indonesia
13 Agustus 2025
On August 17, 1960, Gabon was finally granted full sovereignty through a cooperation agreement with France.
