LAGOS, Nigeria — Pirates kidnapped 12 foreign sailors off the coast of Nigeria’s restive and oil-rich southern delta during an attack that left one crew member injured, a naval spokesman said Saturday.
Commodore David Nabaida said pirates boarded the German-flagged cargo ship BBC Palonia Friday night off the coast of the Niger Delta nearthe Bonny River fairway. A struggle broke out during the attack and pirates shot one crew member in the leg during the fight, Nabaida said.
Nabaida said the Nigerian navy escorted the ship to safe waters and transported the wounded Ukrainian sailor to a local hospital. The sailor was in stable condition Saturday afternoon, he said.
“All efforts are being made to ... rescue the kidnappedcrew,” the commodore said.
Nabaida said the navy had suspects in mind for the attack, but declined to offer further details. He said the crew consisted of sailors from Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine.
The attack comes after 12 pirates in speedboats attacked a bulk carrier in the same area last Sunday. The International Maritime Bureau, which tracks piracy worldwide, reported thepirates shot at crew members with locally made firearms while trying to board the ship. Crew members repelled the attack using a slingshot, the bureau said. One sailor suffered minor injuries.
Such attacks have been common in the Niger Delta, a region almost the size of South Carolina with swamps, mangrove forests and creeks. Militants have kidnapped oil workers, bombed crude-oil pipelinesand fought with government troops since an insurrection began there in 2006. While a government-sponsored amnesty deal has slowed violence in recent months, analysts worry the program has begun to fray as weapons remain plentiful in the impoverished region.
Friday’s attack is just the latest as acts of piracy increase in the Gulf of Guinea, especially along Nigeria’s 530 miles of coastline.
Front Section, Pages 16 on 07/04/2010