ARMED West African pirates have released the 6,330-dwt Nigerian owned, Panamanian-flagged tanker Itri siphoning
West African Pirates seize tanker, siphon off US$5 million in jet fuel ARMED West African pirates have released the 6,330-dwt Nigerian owned, Panamanian-flagged tanker Itri siphoning off US$5 million in jet fuel, according to the vessel's owners, reported The Associated Press.
None of the 16 Nigerian crew members, who were locked up in a dining room while the hijackers siphoned off the fuel, were injured, said shipowner Brila Energy, a Nigerian petroleum distributor.
The vessel was seized on January 16 as it was preparing to discharge 5,000 tonnes of jet fuel cargo at Abidjan, Ivory Coast. officials said.
"Hijackers were not arrested. They escaped," said Brila chairman Rowaye Jubril in an email to AP.
Ivory Coast officials said the ship initially had trouble docking due to a sand storm, which reduced visibility. Later, the ship's master radioed the port manager to report difficulty in manoeuvring.
Shortly afterward, contact was lost with the vessel. Then ship consignee Koda Maritime informed port officials that armed men had taken control, AP said.
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said the attack was the furthest thus far from Nigeria in the Gulf of Guinea, calling it a "potential game changer" in piracy in the region.
Most of West Africa's ship hijackings in the region occur near oil-rich Nigeria.
The first recorded vessel hijacking off the Ivory Coast occured last October, when 14 men armed with knives and AK-47s boarded a tanker carrying 30,000 tonnes of petrol.The ship was released three days later in Nigerian waters with the crew unharmed, but the pirates reportedly made off with about 2,500 tonnes of fuel, AP said.
