Pirates may have hijacked missing oil tanker in Gulf of Guinea

An Indian-owned oil tanker that vanished Thursday off the coast of the West African country of Benin may have been hijacked by pirates, and officials Sunday pleaded for help finding the vessel.

India’s External Affairs minister Suchma Swaraj confirmed late Sunday the tanker, Marine Express, disappeared in the Gulf of Guinea with 22 Indian crew members on board.

“Merchant Ship Marine Express with 22 Indian nationals is missing off the Coast of Benin in the Gulf of Guinea,” Swaraj wrote on Twitter. “We are making all out efforts in coordination with Nigerian and Benin naval authorities to trace the missing ship.”