About two weeks after pirates attacked two cargo ships of the coast of Lagos, daredevil pirates have again attacked a cargo vessel at anchor approximately 3NM from the Fairway Buoy off Port Harcourt, river state.
The latest attack which led to the kidnap of the captain and chief engineer and robbing the crew before escaping is the latest in the serial attacks ion ships in the Gulf of Guinea where Nigeria is a prominent actor. The ship was identified as Breiz Klipper.
About two weeks after pirates attacked two cargo ships of the coast of Lagos, daredevil pirates have again attacked a cargo vessel at anchor approximately 3NM from the Fairway Buoy off Port Harcourt, river state.
The latest attack which led to the kidnap of the captain and chief engineer and robbing the crew before escaping is the latest in the serial attacks ion ships in the Gulf of Guinea where Nigeria is a prominent actor. The ship was identified as Breiz Klipper.
The Tuesday's attack also left some crew injured, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) confirmed yesterday, even though local authourities declined knowledge, as in previous cases.
Efforts by Shipping Position Daily correspondent in Port Harcourt to secure confirmation of the attack were futile as local officials denied knowledge of it.
But, giving more vivid account of what happened, the IMB said yesterday that “eight pirates armed with guns in a wooden boat boarded and started firing towards the bridge and galley on an anchored refrigerated cargo ship. The pirates ransacked the ship and stole crew cash, personnel effects and ship cash and properties. They took hostage the Master and C/E and escaped.”
Shipping Position Daily confirmed that the ship was carrying reefer containers of frozen fish from Killybegs, in County Donegal, Ireland.
The manager of the Dutch-owned vessel, Seatrade, said the Breiz Klipper had "proceeded to safer waters and is currently navigating at open sea off the West African coast awaiting further instructions".
Seatrade stressed it would be working closely with the local authorities and professional advisors to secure the earliest release of its crew. The families of those being held are being kept in touch with the situation.
The report further confirmed that the ill-fated “ship informed the local authorities through the agents and sailed to a safe distance without the presence of Master and C/E onboard. One crew wounded and one crew unaccounted for.”
The assault which occurred at about 1500 GMT on Tuesday targeted a Dutch-owned, Curacao-flagged refrigerated cargo ship that was anchored near the coast, said Noel Choong, head of the IMB's Kuala Lumpur-based piracy reporting centre.
“A group of about eight pirates armed with guns carried out the attack on the ship, which had a crew of 14”, he said, adding that Nigerian authorities had been alerted.
Choong said he had received no word yet on the fate of those reported missing or whether any ransom was being demanded.
"The attacks off the Nigerian coast are very violent and they are increasing," Choong said.
"So, far we have seen seven attacks off Nigeria this year and one off of Benin. So that makes eight since the beginning of the year and we believe many more attacks may have gone unreported."
The IMB has said other recent attacks in the area included a tanker that was hijacked south of Nigeria earlier in February. Nigerian security forces intercepted that ship and rescued its crew.
The IMB, which is funded by shipowners, had warned in September, 2011 that the seas off Benin, Nigeria's neighbour, were emerging as a new piracy "hotspot" due to the weak enforcement capabilities of governments in the region.
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