The attack was against a Chinese fishing vessel that was operating offshore Equatorial Guinea Mbini Area.

The incident took place within territorial waters, while it was understood that the vessel was approached by a speedboat, reportedly with a black hull containing an unknown number of perpetrators.

The perpetrators are also believed to have been armed and one crew member was understood to have been killed in the attack.

Furthermore, the report had it that six personnel were kidnapped from the vessel, including the captain.

The attack was the 11th kidnapping incident in the Gulf of Guinea in 2021 which brought the total number of crews kidnapped in offshore incidents to 82.

It was also the third attack offshore Equatorial Guinea on December 21.

Pirates have historically shown a capacity to avoid the maritime security footprint within the Gulf of Guinea and are likely to seek to continue to exploit weaknesses where these are found.

This incident came after a Danish naval patrol killed four pirates in an exchange of fire in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of Nigeria, in November.

The incident occurred when the frigate Esbern Snare, which has been patrolling the area since early November, attempted to board the pirate boat.

“No Danish soldiers were injured, but five pirates were shot,” the military had then said. “Four of the pirates died. One was injured,” it added.

The Danish forces fired warning shots, and the pirates immediately fired back.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had told a news conference that the soldiers’ intervention had “probably prevented concrete pirate attacks against vessels in the region.”