According to reports, pirates boarded the Nave Constellation tanker vessel and kidnapped 19 of the vessel’s crewmembers, while the vessel was sailing around 100 nautical miles off Bonny Island, Nigeria on December 3, 2019.
The incident was primarily reported from the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre, which further addressed that the armed pirates attacked and boarded the oil tanker, with the 19 crew kidnapped while the rest of the crew sailed a tanker to a safe area.
The vessel owners notified the Nigerian Navy and MRCC for assistance
… IMB added.
The incident took place 100nm south of Bonny Island and 105nm of Bioko Island; Security consultants Dryad Global stated that the incident is part of the 6th maritime security incident and the fourth kidnapping incident to occur within 30nm of the South Eastern boundary of the Nigerian EEZ within 2019.
It was additionally commented that this pirate action group (PAG) is informed of the limitations of security prescience beyond the Nigerian EEZ and is looking to exploit traffic conducting operations at or in support of oil infrastructure which is along the north eastern fringes of the Nigerian EEZ and within the 60nm channel between the Nigerian EEZ and Bioko Island.
The Consultant recommends that
This latest incident occurred 26nm SE of the Egina terminal. Within this, vessels conducting operations at the Egina, Usan and Serpentina terminals are assessed to be operating at heightened risk in the medium to longer term.
Overall, Nigeria remains a hot spot for piracy incidents the last ten years; Yet, in a recent report IMB presented that the during Q1 of 2019, Nigeria saw a decline in piracy incidents. However, despite the positive results, Nigerian waters are still risky for ships, especially the port of Lagos where four incidents have been reported.
