Pirates attacked three vessels in one week- Report
Despite all the measures put in place by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to curtail pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria last week experienced three separate attacks, raising questions on security within Nigerian waters.
The attack that would lay precedent took place on Saturday 20th of November, 2016 when a Maersk Line container vessel came under attack from Nigerian pirates according to a report by security broker, Asket.
The Singapore-flagged, 61,614 dwt box ship, Maersk Cotonou, was attacked in Rivers State Nigeria close to Bonny Island according to the report.
Asket said that the container ship was attacked by eight armed men in a speedboat and the Maersk Cotonou successfully applied counter piracy measures. The vessel then continued to its destination.
Asket said the attack was carried out by the same group that attempted an attack on a convoy of supply vessels earlier on 19 November. In that case, a security vessel escorting the convoy intercepted the pirate skiff and came under fire.
Hardly had the dust settled on that attack when another vessel, MV KENDRICK sailing from Uyo to Onne port was attacked by Pirates; the attack was carried out by unknown pirates in the vicinity of AGBAMI field, approximately 70 nautical miles (NM) from the shore.
As the attack was ongoing, another vessel, the tanker ELIANA was also attacked. The MT ELIANA was attacked on transit from Port Harcourt to Lagos by unknown sea pirates approximately 60NM from shore.
However, NIMASA Director General, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has called for calm saying the agency, in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy and Air Force, was striving to eradicate the menace.
“We have made some progress; in 2014, we had about 20-something cases of pirates attacks. Last year, we had 12, the whole of this year we have had below five so far. It means we are making progress; it is not as bad as it used to be, we are not where we want to be, but we are making progress.
We however acknowledge that if we don’t deal with the issues of piracy, two things will happen, vessels won’t call at our ports, even the ones who call at your ports, insurance will continue to go up which we will all pay for as importers will include it in the prices of goods.
We are dedicated to fighting it as it is not even good for our national image,” he said.
