In a statement issued on Sunday Dynacom said it had re-established contact with the 74,999 dwt Kerala and all the crew for safe and accounted for.
“Pirates hijacked the vessel offshore Angola. The pirates stole a large quantity of cargo by STS (ship-to-ship) transfer. The pirates have now disembarked,” the company said in a brief statement.
The vessel disappeared last week, believed hijacked, raising serious concerns for the industry as the attack represented a significant extension of the range at which Nigerian pirates were willing to attack shipping.
However, Augusto Alfredo, spokesman for the Angolan Navy told Reuters that the tanker had been found in Nigerian waters and reports of a hijacking pirates were false.
"It was all faked, there have been no acts of piracy in Angolan waters," Alfredo said.
"What happened on 18 January, when we lost contact with the ship, was that the crew disabled the communications on purpose."
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