The container ship Windhoek was attacked by armed pirates at Conakry anchorage on 20 nautical miles off Conakry, Guinea. A group of six heavy armed men open fire against the superstructure of the anchored tanker and boarded through the broken bridge wing windows. The Master raised alarm, but pirates took hostages and used them as shield during robbering the crew cabins and ship’s office. The pirates stole valuables and cash from the vessels and fled on fast motor boat in east direction. All the crew were released when pirates escaped. The local authorities dispatched a coast guard and navy boats, but failed to trace the armed pirates. All the crew were reported safe and without injuries.

The local authorities started investigation for the root cause of the accident. The vessel did not suffered sufficient damages and was allowed to resumed service. The ship’s name was not initially mentioned in official report, but later was found the this is container carrier Windhoek. The ship docked a few hours after the accident at Conakry and then headed to Monrovia, Liberia.

The container ship Windhoek (IMO: 9515591) has overall length of 172.00 m, moulded beam of 28.00 m and maximum draft of 8.00 m. The deadweight of the vessels is 21,442 DWT and the gross tonnage is 17,280 GRT. The ship was built in 2009 by Imabari Shipbuilding in their shipyard in Japan.