By Kenneth Jukpor
According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), six crew members of a Palau-flagged tanker were kidnapped by pirates off Nigeria last week.
The incident allegedly occurred at the Bonny Outer Anchorage on April 19, 2019, the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre said.
Identified as the 3,100 dwt Apecus, the anchored tanker was boarded by unauthorized persons who kidnapped the six seafarers. The remaining crew was reported safe, the IMB said.
The Nigerian Navy was notified and an investigation into the incident has been launched.
Built in Germany in 1973, Apecus is owned by the US-based Petronav Carriers, according to data provided by VesselsValue.
Nigerian pirates recently hijacked another merchant ship, robbing the vessel’s crew. The unidentified ship was freed in the Gulf of Guinea by a Spanish warship on April 9, 2019, having been held hostage by pirates for four days.
The incident was followed by one more pirate attack involving an anchored product tanker off Nigeria. On April 15, four persons armed with automatic weapons boarded an unnamed vessel at Bonny River Inner Anchorage. The onboard Nigerian naval guards returned fire resulting in the persons retreating into their boat and escaping, reports World Maritime News.
Recall that the IMB in its 2019 first quarter rating commended Nigeria for the reduced piracy attacks on Nigerian waters, before stating in another report this week that despite the reduction in piracy attacks there were still threats on the nation’s waters.
As part of efforts to address this menace, the newly elected President of the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) Dr. Mkgeorge Onyung has admonished the Nigerian government to acquire more security patrol boats capable of swiftly attending to such issues.
The SOAN President who was speaking with MMS Plus during an exclusive chat, also admonished the government to introduce strategies to gainfully engage the youths in the coastal areas, noting that employment opportunities, entrepreneurial development and skill acquisition would curb the youth restiveness, piracy and other vices in the region.
