The 18 crew members
who were rescued after the attack comprised of Chinese, Ghanaians and Ivorians.
Commodore Ibrahim Shettima, the Commander Nigeria Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT said
the arrest and rescue mission took place on 15 May.
Shettima said NNS
NGURU was deployed to intercept the vessel after the Nigerian Navy was alerted
of the attack.
He said;
“The pirates took
control of the vessel and directed the vessel toward Nigerian waters.
“On interception of
the vessel at about 140nm south of Lagos Fairway Buoy, the pirates refused to
comply with the orders of the Navy Ship.
“Hence, the NN had
to conduct an opposed boarding of the vessel.
“All ships crew were
safely rescued, while the 10 pirates were arrested,” he said.
The commodore noted
that the last five known or documented pirates’ attacks were outside Nigerian
waters, which the NN responded in the interest of regional security.
“This is aptly
captured in the NN Total Spectrum Maritime Strategy, which covers Nigeria’s
outermost maritime area of interest, encompassing the entire West African
waters and the GoG.
” This underscores the need for increased regional cooperation in terms of information sharing and further deepening of response capability.
” For instance, this
rescue effort was bolstered by additional intel received from the Beninous Navy
during the operation.
“The NN has the
capability and will power to deal with such perpetrators."
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