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| Pirates in Nigeria waters |
A Nigerian naval ship freed an oil tanker last week which had been hijacked near Lagos, the managers of the vessel affirmed.
A Singapore registered Abu Dhabi Star was hijacked by pirates at about 14 nautical miles from Lagos port entrance said the navy, the crew members had hidden in a room on the ship.
The pirates escaped when they saw a Nigerian naval ship and naval helicopter approach, said the naval officer commodore Kabir Aliyu.
22 Indians were reported to have been on board the ship, however there was no exchange of fire. All the crew members were safe, the ship anchored at Lagos harbor under strict protection of the navy as investigation goes on.
It was however not ascertained if the fuel on board were stolen, as the intent of the attackers was clearly to steal the fuel, "we don't know yet if they were successful", said a Naval officer .
It was also gathered that the pirates aim must have been to offload the fuel into a waiting vessel and then sell it on the region's black market.
Piracy in this region serves as huge source of revenue for the gangs involved, although unlike the Somali pirates they rarely ask for ransoms, freeing the captured crew as soon as they are done offloading the fuel.
The management of Abu Dhabi Star confirmed the rescue, they also issued a statement thanking the Nigerian Naval Authorities for responding swiftly.
(Edited by: Blueblock)
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