Pirates hijack ship with 23 Indian sailors near Nigeria

Posted on | september 6, 2012 | No Comments

Pirates hijacked a ship owned by a Singaporean firm off the shores of Nigeria on Tuesday with its 23 Indian sailors on board.

Officials of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) who announced this said the vessel was carrying fuel and was sailing towards the open sea.

IMB said Nigerian authorities have been notified of the attack and are taking action.
According to IMB, the sailors locked themselves in a safe room to avoid harm by the attackers who are suspected to be oil thieves from Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.

The organization disclosed that the Gulf of Guinea where the attack took place has had 37 attacks on ships this year alone.

Naval sources told PTI that the attackers normally siphon oil from the ships and release them after a few days.
Last week, an oil vessel was seized by pirates, off the Coast of Togolese capital of Lome and released few days later near Nigeria with its 23 Russian crew members.

3,000 tonnes of fuel were stolen from the ship, MT Energy Centurion, owned by a Greece-based firm, Golden Energy Management.

AUTHOR: Paul Ohia
URL: www.paulohia.blog.com and www.paulohia.blogspot.com
E-MAIL: paulohia [at] yahoo.co.uk