Pirates Kidnap Crew of Reefer En-Route to Lagos

First Posted on September 8, 2020 by maritimesafetyandsecurity

September 8 – 0630 UTC a merchant ship was attacked and boarded some 30 nm south of Lagos, Nigeria.

Tracking has confirmed that the vessel attacked was the Liberian flagged Dutch reefer Water Phoenix IMO:9045168

AIS tracking indicates that the vessel was on route to Lagos at 14kts when it suddenly stopped, after performing evasive manoeuvres.

In a later update, it was confirmed that two Russian nationals were kidnapped from the crew of 18. The remaining crew is believed to have retreated to the citadel.

Dryad Global report that this is the 13th incident in waters of the Lagos Port Complex and Anchorage in the past 12 months, most of which have manifest as boarding for theft. Data shows that some 93 personnel have been kidnapped over 18 incidents off the coast of west Africa so to date in 2020.

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