Armed robbers boarded a fishing vessel, kidnapped three crew members and escaped in West African waters, on Friday 9th of February, according to IMB Piracy Reporting Centre.
The men, armed with AK47 assault rifles, boarded the vessel while underway around 10 nautical miles South West of Idenao, Cameroon. The Cameroonian Authorities were notified and are currently investigating the incident.
This is the latest of numerous piracy attacks in the Gulf of Guinea in the last months, with Nigeria taking the lead in crew abductions in 2017. In the past year, 10 incidents of kidnapping were reported involving 65 crew members in or around Nigerian waters. Globally, 16 vessels were fired upon—including seven in the Gulf of Guinea.
In the beginning of the year, the NIMASA director general announced plans for Nigeria to obtain strategic maritime safety and security assets. The move is aligned with the total spectrum of the country’s maritime security strategy, as recently approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in Abuja, focusing on four components: situational awareness, response capability, law enforcement and local partnerships and regional cooperation.
