(AFP) – Pirates have hijacked a Singapore-owned oil tanker in the Nigerian port of Lagos — the third attack in just over two weeks in the Gulf of Guinea, the International Maritime Bureau said on Wednesday.

The vessel, which had 23 crew on board, was laden with fuel, the bureau’s Kuala Lumpur-based piracy reporting centre said, adding that the pirates were sailing the ship into the open sea.

It did not say how the pirates hijacked the tanker on Tuesday evening.

“We have informed the Nigerian authorities who are taking action,” Noel Choong, head of the IMB’s Malaysia-based piracy reporting centre told AFP.

The crew members had locked themselves in a safe room, said Choong, who added: “We are concerned about their safety and the spate of hijackings,” he said.

Pirates hijacked and looted two oil tankers off nearby Togo last month. The two ships and all crew members were later freed.

Choong said the same criminal syndicate could be behind the latest attack since the modus operandi was the same.

“The would seize the ship for about five days — ransack the crew’s cabin and syphon the oil to another pirate vessel,” he said.

The IMB has repeatedly warned ships plying the Gulf of Guinea off the west coast of Africa to be vigilant and called on authorities to step up patrols, saying last year the region was emerging as a new piracy “hot spot”.

The area has seen 37 attacks, including several hijackings, kidnappings and killings, so far this year. Pirates usually target cargo, loading it onto other ships to sell on the black market.

Nigeria and nearby Benin launched joint patrols last year in a bid to combat the problem.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/09/05/pirates-seize-oil-tanker-kidnap-crew-off-nigeria/

Original BH? Somalian Rebels? MEND? Criminal BH? OPC? MASSOB? CABAL? PDP BH?

Men the list goes on and on...

Interesting..

In the long run it might Fuel Supply....

It's gotta be any one of the numerous "terrorist" groups we have in Nigeria
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Please, mods, un-ban SimonAndal, as I've done absolutely nothing to warrant it. This is the second time I've been banned, as you can see from this handle.

3rdSimonAndal: It's gotta be any one of the numerous "terrorist" groups we have in Nigeria
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Please, mods, un-ban SimonAndal, as I've done absolutely nothing to warrant it. This is the second time I've been banned, as you can see from this handle.

Have you been drinking garri in heavy doses lately?? MOD please unban SimonAndal

Is the Nigera-Benin joint patrol team still active?

And how does this affect the price of Fuel in the filing station?

savedbreak: EeyaaHH!! I hope this won't affect the price of kpomo that am about to buy from Ola mummy booker ooh....

@ savedbreak.... So u r ife based... Na my mummy s shop u dey buy that. Lol

[size=16pt]the reward for handsomely rewarding violence (in the name of watever) is more violence[/size]

If you're a Nigerian here in this forum u should check out my signature..its hot now!

I don't like Singaporeans, so i don't give a damn what happens to their ship. That's one of the most xenophobic countries you'd ever visit. They even have the capacity to store more oil than lots of oil producing countries. racist bastards. abeg, shoot the Singaporeans on that ship, syphon the oil and sink the bloody ship.

what?

Sad!!! I believe Nigerian water ways should not be taken over by sea pirates.
All this events drives us closer to dysfunctional state.

just got the news

Pirates seize oil tanker, kidnap crew off Nigeria

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press
Pirates attacked and seized an oil tanker off the coast of Nigeria's largest city, the country's navy said Wednesday, kidnapping an unknown number of sailors who were trying to hide from their assailants.

The pirates targeted the MT Abu Dhabi Star, which was anchored 80 kilometers (50 miles) off the coast of Lagos, the country's biggest port, said Commodore Kabir Aliyu, a spokesman for Nigeria's navy. The sailors onboard sent distress signals as the pirates boarded the ship Tuesday night, with their last message indicating they had locked themselves inside a panic room on the vessel, Aliyu said.

The oil tanker, flagged out of Singapore, is operated by Pioneer Ship Management Services LLC, a company with offices in Dubai. The company said in a statement that it lost radio contact with the tanker on Wednesday.

"Pioneer have since received contact from the crew onboard the vessel and can confirm that all crew members are currently reported to be safe and uninjured, but that the vessel has been boarded by suspected pirates," the statement read.

Pioneer said it had not received any ransom demands for its crew. The company did not say how many sailors were onboard the vessel nor did it give their nationalities.

The attack mirrored two others carried out in recent days in waters off the coast of Togo. In both of those cases, the crew were released unharmed after pirates ransacked the vessels and stole the gasoline or oil onboard the ship, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which tracks piracy across the world.

Pirate attacks are on the rise in West Africa's Gulf of Guinea, which follows the continent's southward curve from Liberia to Gabon. Over the last year and a half, piracy there has escalated from low-level armed robberies to hijackings and cargo thefts. Last year, London-based Lloyd's Market Association - an umbrella group of insurers - listed Nigeria, neighboring Benin and nearby waters in the same risk category as Somalia, where two decades of war and anarchy have allowed piracy to flourish.

Pirates in West Africa have been more willing to use violence in their robberies, as they target the cargo, not the crew for ransom as is the case off Somalia. Experts say many of the pirates come from Nigeria, where corrupt law enforcement allows criminality to thrive.

Analysts believe the recent hijackings of tanker ships may well be the work of a single, sophisticated criminal gang with knowledge of the oil industry and oil tankers. Those involved in the hijackings may have gotten that experience in Nigeria's southern Niger Delta, where thieves tap pipelines running through the swamps to steal hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil a day.

Lagos Port? Wahala dey

The Nigeria Navy has rescued the ship,these guys are impressive!

Mtchewww, my boys dey find money to buy sallah ram.

Brand_new: Girl you are too raw for NL.

notice me...ur noticed indeed

I commend the Navy for this rescue... With the contents of the tanker intact, i sincerely hope the price of rriga will be greatly affected in the market...

Wher we fit see d looted oil buy jare