Over the weekend, a ‘pirate’ attack was reported on the Zaap Delta oil platform of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) in Campeche, where two workers were injured, prompting a call for support from the union. José Guadalupe Rueda, president of the local surveillance council of section 47 in Ciudad del Carmen, explained that the robbery occurred from Thursday night into the early hours of Friday, but it was only made known after the employees were rescued.
Rueda provided more details on how the assault happened, explaining that it took place on one of the satellite platforms where typically only two employees are present. These workers were beaten and held for more than five hours in the control room. Pemex employees reported the situation and the presence of outsiders aboard the platform. The rescue of the workers took an average of four to five hours.
“The employees only heard noises as the ‘pirates’ dragged something and loaded it into the boats they came on. They are not going to see what they can take; they come for something they already know is there,” stated the president of the surveillance council. These types of robberies have been occurring for several years, but it is the first time that workers have been assaulted as they were on this occasion. Workers on the oil platform have observed that the ‘pirates’ arrive in fishing-type boats and also in larger vessels.
The leader of section 47 called for both Pemex and the authorities to take up the case to provide security for workers. President Claudia Sheinbaum mentioned in her morning conference on Monday, February 17, that the Secretary of the Navy (Semar) would reinforce security to protect Pemex employees. However, Rueda clarified that there is no protection on these types of satellite platforms, only on the larger ones, as the Navy does not have the infrastructure to carry out surveillance in these areas.
In response to the robberies on oil platforms in the Campeche Sound, Pemex reported that it has allocated more security personnel to safeguard the facilities and the integrity of the workers. In coordination with Semar, the number of patrols in the high seas will be increased to prevent modern pirates from attacking an oil platform again. In a statement, Pemex detailed that a group of approximately eight individuals not affiliated with the public company illegally boarded the Zaap-D satellite platform, stealing radio devices, tools, and autonomous breathing equipment.
