Even though the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC); BW Rhine was not seized on Nigerian waters or off its coast, the pirates that hijacked the 24- member crew ship have finally left her off the hook off the coast of Nigeria, bringing the nation into negative limelight once again.
An official statement issued over the weekend by BW Maritime; owners of the ill-fated tanker confirmed that “communications were re-established with the vessel”, but did not give the exact location where she was rescued off the Nigerian coast.
Even though the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC); BW Rhine was not seized on Nigerian waters or off its coast, the pirates that hijacked the 24- member crew ship have finally left her off the hook off the coast of Nigeria, bringing the nation into negative limelight once again.
An official statement issued over the weekend by BW Maritime; owners of the ill-fated tanker confirmed that “communications were re-established with the vessel”, but did not give the exact location where she was rescued off the Nigerian coast.
According to the statement, the Master of BW Rhine’ Captain Dheeraj Sharma confirmed that the vessel has been held under duress while the cargo was being stolen.
An obviously happy, CEO of BW Maritime, Andreas Sohmen-Pao said: “We are all very relieved and our immediate priority is to ensure the wellbeing of our employees”.
BW Rhine is currently enroute to a nearby port, where support services have been arranged for the crew upon arrival.
This is the first known hijack case of this nature in Lome, Togo. The attack took place at a patrolled anchorage with a large number of other vessels in the area.
“A thorough investigation of the incident will be undertaken in the coming weeks and the company requests that respect is given to the privacy of the crew and their families after their ordeal”, the company said on its web site.
The 75,678 dwt product tanker that was built in 2008 was forcibly removed from her safe anchorage position off Lome, Togo.
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