• Forcefully Sail Ship Away, Injure Crew
Barely three weeks after about 15 fully- armed sea robbers tormented the crew of a chemical tanker that was at anchorage about 60 nautical miles South West of Lagos, pirates again boarded an Italian-flagged petroleum products tanker, MT DOMINIA in the Bonny axis last week.
The sea robbers later kidnapped three of the crew of the ship. Shipping Position Weekly confirmed that the ill-fated ship was later taken away with her products up to the Escarvos channels.
“The attackers came on board the vessel and for the next 14 hours terrorised the crew while ransacking the ship. They later left taking one of the vessel’s lifeboats and three of the crew” our correspondent was told.
A highly placed security source confirmed last weekend that the ship was indeed rescued by the Nigerian Navy and added that she is presently at anchorage in Lagos and added that the ship actually loaded PMS.
He also confirmed that the pirates went on board the ship and injured some crew members, even though he could not confirm if anyone was killed.
“The pirates went on board and took the ship away; we had to get the Navy which deployed its warship, NNS Delta to ensure that the ship and her contents were returned from Escravos”
He also confirmed that the attackers were in two batches. According to him, one set went on board while the other batch was in a speed boat waiting.
Shipping Position Weekly had reported in its last week edition the December 24 to 27, 2010 attack on a yet to be identified tanker
In the story, it was reported that the robbers forced the chief engineer and master to sail the vessel under their orders to an undesignated position. Here the vessel was forced to conduct STS operations and discharge her cargo into a smaller unnamed vessel.
Still fully in charge, the sea robbers eventually ordered the vessel to sail under their orders. The ship eventually sailed out on December 27, 2010 and disembarked from the vessel.
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