May 4th, 2012 BW Rhine was released after being held under duress while some of the cargo was being stolen. The gasoline it was carrying was worth millions of dollars.
[May 2]Hijackers looking for the petroleum product cargo, maybe aviation fuel, forcibly removed from her safe anchorage position off Lome, Togo BW Rhine, product tanker operated by BW Maritime. The vessel was laden at the time.
Contact was last made with the vessel at 18:30 GMT on 30 April. Ongoing efforts are being made to restore communications.
All possible actions are being taken to track the vessel, and coastal navies have deployed assets to assist the search. The BW Emergency Response Team is continuously monitoring the situation and all relevant parties have been informed. On 2012-03-27 discharged aviation fuel at RPD/Bristol UK. BW Maritime is part of the BW Group, one of the world’s leading maritime groups in the tanker, gas and offshore segments, operating a fleet of 93 owned, part-owned or controlled vessels. BW Maritime is a leading maritime company with commercial responsibility for a fleet of 30 vessels - 14 Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), and a fleet of 16 LR1 product tankers, controlled by the family of Helmut Sohmen .
BW Rhine
Ship Type: Oil products tanker
Year Built: 2008
Length x Breadth: 228 m X 33 m
Gross Tonnage: 43797, DeadWeight: 76000 t
Speed recorded (Max / Average): 9.3 / 8.5 knots
Flag: Panama [PA]
Call Sign: 3EOW2
IMO: 9341940, MMSI: 355797000
Owner: NEWELL COMPANY S.A.
Operator: BW Fleet Management Pte Ltd.
Class Society: Bureau Veritas
