NAVY, NIMASA BEGINGS SEARCH FOR ABDUCTED CREW ON POLISH VESSEL
THE
Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency
(NIMASA) and other security agencies have begun a spirited search for
the crew and the Polish cargo vessel abducted off Nigeria’s coast.
According to a statement signed by NIMASA Deputy Director, Public Relations, Hajia Lami Tumaka, the agency, “the Acting Director General of NIMASA, Mr. Haruna Baba Jauro, had directed a full scale investigation and release of the Captain and four crew members of the vessel.
The vessel, MV SZAFIR operating under the Cyprus flag, was reportedly attacked on Friday approximately seven nautical miles east of Brass at about 0149 hours local time.
Registered with IMO No.9004504, the vessel, owned by Voltaire Shipping Company and operated by Euroafrica Services Nigeria Limited, had 16 crew members and was enroute Onne port from Antwerp before it was attacked.
The vessel, is currently being sailed to Onne port under the Nigerian Navy escort for protection and further investigation.
Gunmen kidnapped five Polish sailors from a cargo ship, in the latest incident in a region known as a piracy hotspot.
“The attack occurred at night. A group of unknown assailants boarded the boat. Five men were kidnapped” from a 16-man crew, Poland’s Foreign Minister, Witold Waszczykowski, told reporters in Warsaw.
“Up to now, the kidnappers have not made contact,” he said, adding that the 11 other crew members were “safe and sound”, still aboard their ship, anchored off the Nigerian coast.
“The ship’s captain along with three officers and one crew member were kidnapped, Waszczykowski said.
The other crewmembers locked themselves in the ship’s engine room to escape capture, Polish media reported.
Scores of kidnappings for ransom have occurred in the oil-rich Niger Delta, and most of the hostages have been freed after payment of a ransom.
Two Lithuanian and two Ukrainian sailors kidnapped from their ship in the same area last month were freed two weeks ago.
But Lithuanian officials refused to say how the release was secured or whether a ransom had been paid for the men’s safe return.
http://tribuneonlineng.com/navy-nimasa-begins-search-for-abducted-crew-on-polish-vessel
According to a statement signed by NIMASA Deputy Director, Public Relations, Hajia Lami Tumaka, the agency, “the Acting Director General of NIMASA, Mr. Haruna Baba Jauro, had directed a full scale investigation and release of the Captain and four crew members of the vessel.
The vessel, MV SZAFIR operating under the Cyprus flag, was reportedly attacked on Friday approximately seven nautical miles east of Brass at about 0149 hours local time.
Registered with IMO No.9004504, the vessel, owned by Voltaire Shipping Company and operated by Euroafrica Services Nigeria Limited, had 16 crew members and was enroute Onne port from Antwerp before it was attacked.
The vessel, is currently being sailed to Onne port under the Nigerian Navy escort for protection and further investigation.
Gunmen kidnapped five Polish sailors from a cargo ship, in the latest incident in a region known as a piracy hotspot.
“The attack occurred at night. A group of unknown assailants boarded the boat. Five men were kidnapped” from a 16-man crew, Poland’s Foreign Minister, Witold Waszczykowski, told reporters in Warsaw.
“Up to now, the kidnappers have not made contact,” he said, adding that the 11 other crew members were “safe and sound”, still aboard their ship, anchored off the Nigerian coast.
“The ship’s captain along with three officers and one crew member were kidnapped, Waszczykowski said.
The other crewmembers locked themselves in the ship’s engine room to escape capture, Polish media reported.
Scores of kidnappings for ransom have occurred in the oil-rich Niger Delta, and most of the hostages have been freed after payment of a ransom.
Two Lithuanian and two Ukrainian sailors kidnapped from their ship in the same area last month were freed two weeks ago.
But Lithuanian officials refused to say how the release was secured or whether a ransom had been paid for the men’s safe return.
http://tribuneonlineng.com/navy-nimasa-begins-search-for-abducted-crew-on-polish-vessel
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