Despite assurances from the Nigerian Navy regarding security, it appears that another ship has been attacked in Nigerian waters.
The IMB reports that a bulk carrier (not named in the report) was approached by two high speed boats yesterday (June 2nd) at 1900 LT in the Calabar River, Nigeria in position 04:49N-008:18E. The pirates/armed robbers fired on the bulk carrier and it would appear that yet again, once the attackers saw the armed security team on board the ship, they aborted their attack and moved away.
This is in stark contrast to the incident involving the SP Brussels, which was attacked by pirates on the night of April 29th when the vessel was en route from Port Harcourt to Lagos. According to a report issued by the vessel’s owners, “Sadly one of the valued crew members suffered fatal injuries¬†with one other seafarer sustaining minor injuries. Two of the attackers died following a crossfire with the security guards on board the ship.”
The incident comes shortly after the Liberian Registry issued its final report on the hijacking of the MV Kerala off Angola, a confusing incident which was initially labelled an inside job by Angolan Naval sources.
Armed robbery, crew kidnappings and maritime crime persist in the waters around West Africa and the security in the region continues to give shipping companies cause for concern.
