Aid workers have expressed concern over the welfare and whereabouts of a boatload of suspected child slaves who are expected to arrive in Benin today after two weeks at sea.
They fear government pledges to punish those guilty of trafficking children may backfire and put the 180 minors thought to be on board at even more risk as the ship's crew seek to escape retribution.
The Nigerian-registered Etirenowas thought to be involved in a lucrative trade in minors sold by poor families and forced to work abroad on plantations or as servants.
Aid agencies and government officials in Benin's main port of Cotonou, from where port officials said the ship set sail on March 30th, were preparing to look after the children until their families could be traced.
Despite international efforts to curb the trade, child slavery persists in West and Central Africa. Aid workers said their families may have been told that, once working, their children would send cash home regularly.
But after receiving a small amount of cash - sometimes as little £10 to £20 -many families never see or hear from their children again, they said.
Thousands of children aged nine to 12 are thought to work on plantations in Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer.
Anti-child labour campaigners say youngsters are often forced to work for up to 12 hours a day and sometimes subjected to physical and sexual abuse.