A tanker has been attacked and looted off the coast of Nigeria by
pirates who took five crew members hostage, the ship’s operating company
said Wednesday. Medallion Marine did not give the nationalities of
those kidnapped but maritime securit
Piracy and kidnapping in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta and
offshore are common, and the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea is second only to
the waters off Somalia for the risk of pirate attacks, which drives up
shipping insurance costs. “On Monday the vessel (SP Brussels) was
boarded by heavily armed pirates whilst approximately 40 miles (65 km)
off the Niger Delta,” Medallion Marine said in a statement. The pirates
ransacked the vessel for personal belongings and took five crew members
with them on their departure.”
Nigerian Navy officials were not available for comment. According to a
maritime tracking website, the SP Brussels is a 7,600-tonne oil and
chemical tanker.
The West African country is among the world’s top 10 crude oil
exporters and imports around 80 per cent of the fuel products needed for
its 160 million people due to a lack of domestic refining capacity.
AKE said the risk of maritime kidnapping is currently heightened off
the Niger Delta. Gunmen kidnapped four foreigners, believed to be South
Koreans, and two Nigerians working for Korea’s Hyundai Heavy onshore in
the Niger Delta on Monday. [VN]
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