Despite a search involving neighbouring Ivory Coast's navy and a UN helicopter, a broken-down cargo ship stolen by machete-wielding pirates off Liberia earlier this month is still missing, officials said on Monday. According to reports, attackers armed with cutlasses and sticks boarded the 67-metre MV Tahoma Reefer while it was docked off Monrovia on May 8, beat up the crew then returned to tow the vessel away while they sought medical care on shore."Right now the ship is lost," the vessel's captain, Volodymr Shteynberh, told Reuters by phone from Monrovia, criticising a lack of co-ordination between the local authorities and the UN peacekeeping missions in Liberia and Ivory Coast. "They say they are using helicopters and ships to find it. But it's not a small vessel. You can't just lose it in the sea."
Meanwhile, security experts are concerned the boat could be used by people traffickers offering Africans illegal passage to Europe or by drug smuggling gangs. West Africa's Atlantic coast is increasingly a transit route to Europe for Colombian cocaine.
Shteynberh, who was on board when the pirates attacked, said their motive was unclear but said the vessel was carrying some 200 tonnes of heavy fuel, worth around $200 000 at local prices. The UN mission in Liberia (UNMIL), helping to restore order after an on-off 1989-2003 civil war, sent a helicopter to look for it as soon as it was reported missing on May 11.
"The vessel was spotted being towed by two smaller boats towards Ivory Coast. UNMIL, which is not equipped with the maritime capability to intercept vessels at sea, immediately alerted the Liberian authorities," it said. An Ivory Coast navy officer said a warship had been sent towards the Liberian border but had failed to locate the vessel.