Reefer Vessel Attacked in Lagos, two kidnapped.
Despite the many measures put in place to curb piracy in the Maritime sector, the issue of piracy continues to be in the uproar especially in the Gulf of Guinea.
A Refrigerated Cargo Ship identified as Water Phoenix, sailing under the flag of Liberia was suspected to be boarded by unknown number of armed pirates while underway the Nigerian coast.
According to the International Chamber of Commerce; Commercial Crime Services, this attack took place at 0530 UTC on the 8th September, 2020 around 33 nautical miles SSW of Lagos, Nigeria. The attack saw two crew members believed to be of Russian citizenship kidnapped. The rest of the crew however managed to retreat into the citadel.
At the time of the incident, the Navy Patrol vessels of Nigeria were deployed to assist the vessel in distress. The navy boarded the vessel, conducted a search and escorted the vessel to a safe anchorage and the remaining crew reported safe.
According to Dryad Global, this is the 13th reported incident in the waters of Lagos Port Complex and Anchorage in the past 12 months and also the 3rd offshore incidents in the waters south of Lagos within 2020.
Sources: Fleetmon
Author: Bernice Noi Tetteh
