Piracy: Another Ship Highjacked Outside Nigerian Waterways!

As the world frowns at the activities of pirates of the Gulf of Edan following its effect on the world's trade, the virus seem to be spreading to the West African region as pirates again seize a second vessel in the area last weekend.


It has been confirmed that an Italian-owned tanker has been highjacked by pirates off the coast of Benin just outside the Nigerian waters on Sunday 23rd, 2011. According to the report, "The vessel which is a tanker christened M.V RBD ANEMA E CORE with 108,958 Dead weight (dwt) and was built in 2010 . The ship has a 23 man crew who were on board.

The RBD ANEMA E CORE (108,958-dwt, built 2010) with a crew of 23 on board was seized on Sunday, 24 July and as of Monday afternoon the fate of the ship and crew was still unknown."

It would be recalled that on the 16 July another tanker, the AEGEAN STAR was also attacked off Benin and taken over by pirates who later abandoned the ship. None of the crew was injured in the attack. Ship operators have been warned to exercise caution while sailing in the Gulf of Guinea with strict watch qift be seen.

Similarly, Somali pirates recently attacked an Ethiopian ship M.V Andinet, a 15,000 dwt along the Gulf of Edan as it sailed through the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC).

The agency report read in part, "An Ethiopian ship, the ANDINET (15,000-dwt) has come under attack by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden while sailing through the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC)."

"Grenades fired from a rocket grenade launcher struck the ship damaging a crane on the deck. There were no injuries to crew and the vessel was able to evade the attack and make its escape."


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