- Pirates attacked a ship off the coast of Nigeria and kidnapped two employees, its Dutch operators said.
- The Water Phoenix is a part of the Groningen Seatrade fleet and the company told the vessel is in “a particularly worrisome situation.”
- The 16 remaining crew members are unharmed. The ship has now arrived at its intended destination of Lagos under navy escort.
Two people were kidnapped by pirates from a Dutch reefer ship off the coast of Nigeria on 8th September, writes Brin Andrews for the Dutch Review.
Pirates aboard Dutch reefer
The Liberian-flagged refrigerated vessel, the Water Phoenix, was attacked while en route from The Netherlands to Lagos, the company Seatrade said.
“No contact has yet been established with those holding our crew members,” spokesman Cor Radings told AFP, without giving details on the nationality of the abducted pair.
The Groningen-based company said its priority was to establish contact with the kidnappers, Radings said, describing the situation as worrisome.
Of the two kidnapped men, one is from Russia and the other is from the Philippines. Their families have been contacted.
Following the attack, the 4,800-tonne ship and 16 other crew who were unharmed, arrived safely in Lagos, where the vessel was escorted to its berth by the Nigerian navy.
Gulf of Guinea: Infamous for piracy
- The incident took place in a stretch of the Gulf of Guinea that has a notorious reputation for piracy.
- According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), 77 seafarers worldwide were taken hostage or kidnapped for ransom in the first half of 2020.
- The Gulf of Guinea accounted for 90 percent of abductions.
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Source: Dutch Review
