MV Spirit, a condensate tanker chartered by Nigeria National Petro- leum Corporation (NNPC), and a cargo vessel have been hijacked by suspected Niger Delta militants believed to belong to the dreaded “Camp 5” in Delta State .
The Joint Military Taskforce (JTF) on the Niger Delta on Thursday, confirmed the hijack of the two vessels by unknown gunmen off the coast of Warri.
Spokesman of the taskforce, Col. Rabe Abubakar, made the confirmation in a telephone interview from Warri.
He said that the vessels, an NNPC chartered Tanker and a Cargo vessel, were seized around the Chanomi River at about 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
Abubakar said the gunmen took an unspecified number of crewmen and sailors hostage and that the whereabouts of the vessels were still unknown.
He said that the taskforce was working with other security agencies to ensure the release of the vessels as well as the safety of the hostages.
Abubakar said “Suspected group of militants from ‘Camp 5’ led by Tompolo in Delta State, has forcefully hijacked a CM Spirit NNPC chartered tanker while sailing to Warri to discharge some condensate today the 13th of May 2009.
“This is criminality in its entirety which must not be condoned.”
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) had issued a 24-hour ultimatum on Wednesday for oil workers to leave the region after heavy clashes with the military, but said yesterday that some companies had asked they be given more time.
Security sources working in the Nigerian upstream sector told Reuters they were taking the militant threats seriously, but there were no plans to evacuate staff.
“They’ve said it all before. Nobody ever evacuates, but some companies will increase their alert level,” a private security contractor told the news agency.
The military had also shrugged off the militant threats, saying it would continue its operations in the Niger Delta as usual.
“Effective 0000 Hrs on Saturday, 16 May 2009, the entire Niger Delta region will be declared a no-fly zone to helicopters and float planes operating on behalf of oil companies,” Mend said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
Gunmen shot at a helicopter flying between facilities operated by Italy ‘s Agip in February, wounding one passenger, but the aircraft landed safely. Mend did not directly claim responsibility for that attack.
The army and militants routinely give conflicting reports of clashes in the Niger Delta, one of the world’s largest wetlands. Independent confirmation of skirmishes, often centred around militant camps deep in the creeks, is virtually impossible.
Mend claimed it had destroyed five military gunboats and support vessels in southern Delta state early Wednesday morning in what it called ” Operation Pearl Harbour “, a claim the military dismissed as propaganda.
Mend had issued such threats several times in the past, most recently in late January when it warned of a “sweeping assault” on the oil and gas industry which never materialised.
Attacks by the group have cut Nigeria ‘s output by about a fifth since early 2006, forced foreign players to remove all but essential staff and eaten into the nation’s foreign earnings, exacerbating the impact of the global downturn.
May152009