Nigeria: Five Tanker Crew Members Kidnapped
A pirate attack was reported on a tanker off Nigeria on 26th March 2016 where five crew members were kidnapped.
Eight armed pirates boarded the tanker at 04’20”N 005’10”E, about 35 nautical miles off the coast of Rivers State in the Gulf of Guinea, near Port Harcourt. The reports state that the pirates stayed aboard the tanker for four hours, then departed with the five hostages – officers and one engineer.
The remaining crew members headed back to the port arriving off Lome on March 28. The equipment onboard the ship was damaged by the pirates but the crew did not sustain any injuries.
Security consultants PGI Intelligence suggest that Nigerian pirates are increasingly turning to kidnapping and ransom as a means of raising funds, as the profitability of hijacking tankers and stealing oil or fuel is in decline.
Source: Asket
