Criminal syndicates are trawling the seas of West Africa, swooping for kidnap for ransom targets with security firms describing the current risk levels as critical.

Yesterday the Ghanaian flagged general cargo vessel Am Delta was boarded by pirates off Brass of Nigeria in the Gulf of Guinea, and five crew onboard the vessel were kidnapped.

Maritime safety consultancy Dryad Global reported that the vessel was boarded by six to seven pirates and the kidnapped crew are all believed to be Ghanaian nationals. The perpetrators damaged the onboard communications and navigation equipment, resulting in the vessel drifting with two crew onboard.

The incident shortly after 14 crew were kidnapped from the Chinese heavy-lift ship Zhen Hua 7 near Sao Tome in the Gulf of Guinea on Friday.

The latest incident takes the total volume of kidnapped personnel from vessels within the Gulf of Guinea to 115 across 22 incidents so far this year.