YAOUNDE, Aug 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nine Chinese and eight Ukrainian seamen were abducted Thursday when two merchant vessels came under attack in Cameroonian waters in the Gulf of Guinea, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said.
Noel Choong, who heads the Malaysian-based watchdog agency, said the 17 seamen were seized from two ships that were attacked within hours of each other while they were anchored off Douala.
Choong said one of the ships was a multipurpose German-owned ship that flew the flag of Antigua and Barbuda.
“Eight crew were kidnapped from the ship consisting of a total of 12 Asian and European sailors,” he said.
The other vessel was a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier managed in Greece with a Greek owner.
“There were 21 crew on board. All were Asians. Nine crew were taken,” Choong said.
“(The) IMB has issued a warning to all ships at Douala. We ask all ships to take additional precaution.”
According to the IMB’s figures, 62 seafarers were taken hostage or abducted in the area in the first half of 2019.
The Gulf of Guinea accounts for 73 per cent of kidnappings and 92 per cent of hostage-takings at sea worldwide, it says.
An official in the port of Douala and a Cameroon navy sources confirmed the account.
The navy source said the kidnappers “are probably Nigerian pirates”, adding that Cameroon’s security forces had launched a search for them.
The Gulf of Guinea, whose coastline stretches in a huge arc from Liberia to Gabon, is notorious for piracy as well as oil theft, illegal fishing and human and drugs trafficking. — NNN-AGENCIES
