The Press and Information Office of Equatorial Guinea has confirmed information received yesterday that a cargo vessel was hijacked in its waters on January 3rd. 
The San Miguel, a general cargo ship carrying 150 tons of cargo and a crew of nine, left Malabo on January 2nd. The ship, owned by the Martinez Brothers, was approached on January 3rd by pirates in a small boat. The Captain of the San Miguel thought they were in distress and allowed them to pull alongside. At this point, the pirates boarded the ship armed with automatic weapons.
They robbed the crew and ordered the Captain to continue sailing to look for another ship to attack. The pirates disabled AIS and comms equipment. No likely targets were found and the ship was sailed to Nigeria. The Captain, a welder and engineer were taken hostage while the ship and remaining crew returned to Bioko Island at around 1730 LT the same day.
