Pirates Open Fire on Nigerian Tanker

Pirates opened fire Wednesday on a Nigerian-owned oil tanker about 80 nautical miles off Port Harcourt. The ship managed to escape after crew members enforced anti-piracy measures and increased vessel speed.

Pirates open fire, fail to board Nigerian tanker

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – Pirates have attacked a ship off the coast of Nigeria for the second time in as many days, but the attackers were thwarted in the latest incident by a quick-acting crew, an international maritime watchdog said Thursday.

The pirates opened fire Wednesday on a Nigerian-owned oil tanker about 80 nautical miles off Port Harcourt, said Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur.

Choong said the ship managed to escape after crew members enforced anti-piracy measures and increased vessel speed.

The attack came a day after Nigerian pirates robbed a cargo ship anchored at Port Harcourt and kidnapped at least two crew members.

“The trend is worrying. It shows that pirate attacks off Nigeria are continuing and getting more violent,” he said.

This brought to eight attacks this year off the coast of Nigeria alone, and there are believed to be many other cases that have gone unreported, Choong said.

Over the last year, piracy in the Gulf of Guinea – which follows Africa’s southward curve from Liberia to Gabon…….[access full article]