Pirates Kidnap 9 in Attack on Vessel Off Nigeria, Says Ship Owner

Pirates Kidnap 9 in Attack on Vessel Off Nigeria, Says Ship Owner
A Special Force of the Nigerian navy tries to arrest pirates in F735 Germinal French Frigate in a stage managed operations during the five-day joint military exercise between Nigeria and French navy codenamed Grand African NEMO (Navy Exercise Maritime Operations) in Nigerian waters on November 1, 2019. Pius Utomi Ekpei/ AFP via Getty Images
Reuters
Updated:

OSLO—Pirates attacked an oil production vessel off Nigeria in the early hours on July 2 and kidnapped nine Nigerian nationals, the ship’s owner, BW Offshore, said.

The Sendje Berge ship was undergoing maintenance when the attack happened, BW Offshore’s Chief Financial Officer Staale Andreassen told Reuters.

The Oslo-listed company said none of the people remaining on the vessel were injured.

“We are working now with the Nigerian authorities to get those nine people safely back,” Andreassen added.

The vessel, a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel that can produce about 50,000 barrels per day, was working at the Okwori oilfield operated by Addax Petroleum, a part of China’s Sinopec Group.

Maritime security firm Dryad Global, citing unidentified reports, said the attack involved three boats and explosives, making it unusual.

Andreassen said he could not confirm that a number of boats had been involved, but denied that explosives were used during the attack.

By Nerijus Adomaitis