Posted on 09/05/2012 2:40:50 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Nigeria's navy says it has rescued a Singapore-owned oil tanker hijacked by pirates on Tuesday night with 23 Indian sailors on board.
A navy spokesman told the BBC the crew was safe, the hijackers had fled and the vessel, the Abu Dhabi Star, was being escorted into the port of Lagos.
Earlier, the navy denied reports that the tanker was seized in the port.
There has been a significant increase in the number of pirate attacks in parts of West Africa.
The BBC's Will Ross in Lagos says unlike the piracy off the coast of Somalia where hostages are held for ransom, in the Gulf of Guinea the armed gangs are after the cargo which is usually swiftly offloaded.
Navy spokesman Commodore Kabir Aliyu said no shots were fired before the hijackers abandoned the Abu Dhabi Star.
Earlier the navy had sent two ships and a helicopter to the scene.
"We want to commend the superb effort of the Nigerian navy in securing the safe release of the Abu Dhabi Star. There were no casualties and the cargo is intact," Pottengal Mukundan, the director of the International Maritime Bureau, told the BBC.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Nigeria has a Navy?
Is there a reason the owners of these huge ships do not hire security to shoot on sight anyone trying to board their ship illegally?
A well placed sniper or three could decimate any of these “pirates”.
“Nigeria, Queen of the Oceans”
I guess I shouldn’t make fun of them as they did the right thing.
how else do you think those guys who send emails about “I’m a nigerian prince looking to give you a million dollars” sends his money?
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