Barely a week after the release of eight fishing vessels with 96 crew members hijacked by suspected sea pirates in Bayelsa State, a group of sea bandits struck again in the Niger Delta region yesterday, attacking at least two oil vessels and briefly seizing a group of oil workers including seven French citizens.
According to the Reuters, which quoted two private security sources, gunmen early yesterday hijacked the vessel called Bourbon Ajax in the oil-producing Delta, also taking 10 Nigerians on board hostage.
The boat and the captives were released shortly after. A source said the boat was contracted by Canada’s Addax Petroleum.
Agency reports quoted a French embassy spokesman in Nigeria confirming that the French workers were safe, but that a Nigerian military spokesman had no immediate comment.
Insecurity in the country has shut down around a fifth of the OPEC member’s oil production since early 2006.
Owners of eight Nigerian vessels abducted a fortnight ago by pirates in the country’s territorial waters were said to have negotiated with the pirates for the release of their hijacked vessels and kidnapped crew members numbering 96 after initial threats by security forces failed to yield desired results.
President of the Nigerian Trawler Owners Association (NITOA), Mrs. Margaret Orakwusi, who expressed the frustration of her members at securing the release of their staff and vessels, said the affected organisations were ready to adopt all means to ensure the safety of the captured men and materials.
Pirates also attacked a second oil vessel in the Delta, but the ship managed to escape with only bullet holes to the hull, a security source said. The vessel is believed to be under contract with French oil major Total.
In a third incident, a security source said an unidentified vessel came under attack with pirates taking cellular phones, money and other valuables from the passengers on board.
Security experts have said that Nigeria’s navy is ill equipped to deal with militants and pirates, who use small fast speedboats to navigate the Delta’s narrow creeks, forcing oil firms to take their own additional security measures.
Addax’s CEO Jean Claude Gandur told Reuters last week that his firm had hired ex-U.S. military speed boats staffed by Nigerian Naval personnel to protect its workers and oil facilities in the Niger Delta region.
Foreign oil companies routinely hire private security contractors in the Niger Delta but are often cautious about explicit relationships with the military, whom militant and rights groups have in the past accused of human rights abuses.
Criminal gangs have taken advantage of the break down in law and order in the Delta, funding themselves through a lucrative trade in stolen oil and frequently kidnapping expatriates, local businessmen and politicians for ransom.
Experts blame the Delta’s insecurity and chronic federal funding shortfalls for the country’s inability to produce anywhere near its capacity of about 3 million barrels per day. Nigeria is currently pumping near 2 million bpd.
Oct272008