Nigerian Coast News

Is neo-colonialism in the Gulf of Guinea the answer to West Africa’s maritime crime crisis?In October 2020, China’s transport ministry established an ad hoc workgroup to lay down precautionary measures for ships and seafarers passing through high piracy risk West African waters.The move came as China told its vessels to up vigilance and implement a series of precautionary measures to ensure the security of ocea-going vessels and seafarers amid rising attacks and a surge in kidnaps in the Gulf of Guinea.Plans outlined by Wu Chungeng…

The crew of a Singapore-registered container vessel, Safmarine Kuramo, hijacked off the Nigerian Coast earlier this week, were released unharmed on Saturday (Feb 6) following efforts by Nigerian authorities. All 25 crew members on board, comprising nationals from India, South Africa, the UK, Thailand and the Philippines, are reported to be safe. Nigerian authorities had secured the release of all crew members and the vessel at 1.20am this morning, 5 hours after a report was first received by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). “There were no Singaporeans on board the vessel,” a statement from MPA said. "MPA worked with the company on the safety of the crew and vessel," the statement said. Safmarine Kuramo is managed by Maersk Line.

The Polish crew of a cargo vessel kidnapped last month off the Nigerian coast are safe and on their way home, Poland's Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said on Tuesday.   "Everything ended happily. The sailors are safe and sound, we are glad that they are coming back to their families," Szydlo said at a televised news conference.   Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski thanked Nigerian authorities and the operator of the vessel, EuroAfrica, for their co-operation in efforts to free the crew.   Pirates attacked the Cyprus-registered Szafir cargo vessel at the end of November and kidnapped its captain and four crew.     (Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko and Marcin Goettig)

BW Offshore has successfully used Miko magnetic patches in a pioneering new repair technique that creates significant time and cost savings. When some cracks appeared in hull plating in the engine room of the FPSO Abo operating off the Nigerian coast, the BW Offshore’s engineering project team chose magnetic patches from a Miko Tanker Kit to quickly seal the leak and make the vessel safe and secure. At that point conventional repair techniques would have required the vessel to either enter dry dock for repair or for a costly and time consuming exterior habitat to be built over the work location so the leak could be repaired permanently with the vessel in situ.

French oil services company Bourbon said on Monday that the three Nigerian crew members kidnapped after one of its speedboats was boarded off the Nigerian coast on April 8 had been released.   "They are in good health and arrived at Port Harcourt on May 8," Bourbon said in a brief statement.   The crew members had been abducted on board a Surfer 1440 boat.   Bourbon operates a fleet of light, fast cruisers called Surfers that are used to move professionals to offshore oil and gas sites, especially in West Africa.     (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Geert De Clercq)

French oil services company Bourbon said on Monday that three Nigerian crew members had been kidnapped after one of its speedboats was boarded off the Nigerian coast in the night of April 8.   "An emergency unit based in Nigeria has been immediately activated," the company said in a statement.   Bourbon operates a fleet of light, fast cruisers it calls Surfers that are used to move professionals to offshore oil and gas sites, especially in West Africa.     (Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by James Regan)

A Liberia-flagged oil tanker has gone missing off the coast of Ghana and a senior port official told Reuters on Saturday the captain sent a distress call to say the vessel was attacked by pirates. The Liberia-flagged MT Fair Artemis last made contact with its manager, Fairdeal Group S.A., at 6 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Wednesday when it was operating off the coast of Ghana, the company said. The ship failed to make contact the next day. Pirate attacks jumped by a third off the coast of West Africa last year, pushing up insurance costs for shipping firms operating in a key commodities export hub. "Our primary concern ... is for the safety of those on board the vessel.

Nautilus International has expressed concern about the seizure of a master and chief engineer officer from an offshore support vessel operating in the Gulf of Guinea. The two men — both reported to be U.S. citizens — were taken from the U.S.-owned platform supply vessel C-Retriever off the Nigerian coast in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The U.S.-flagged vessel, owned by Edison Chouest, was working off Brass, Nigeria. Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson said the incident highlighted the urgent need for action to prevent west African piracy from deteriorating further. While piracy off Somalia has declined significantly over the past year…

Pirates allegedly hijacked a fuel tanker off the Nigerian coast early Saturday morning, AP News reported. The pirates are said to be holding some of the five Nigerian and 12 Pakastani sailors hostage. Pirate gunmen boarded the MT Matrix I, a Nigerian-flagged, Greek-operated 100-meter tankship, roughly 40 nautical miles off of Nigeria’s Bayelsea state, taking a portion of the crew hostage. The tanker’s operator, Val Oil Trading Co., is yet to release any information on the attack. The hijacking has not been formally reported to officials. While Somlalia has seen less piracy in recent months due to foreign intervention, the Nigerian region has been experiencing an increase in pirate activity. Sources: Associated Press, Staff

Tideland Signal's -50dBm SeaBeacon 2 System 6 racon (radar beacon) has been chosen to mark the Ofon 2 offshore complex in OML 102 (Oil Mining Lease), 65 kilometers off the Nigerian coast. Feature of the SeaBeacon 2 System 6 dual-band racon are its dynamic range, sensitivity of -50dBm for both X- and S- Band, and output, making it visible from greater distances. Because of its reliability and extremely economical power consumption, it is suitable for remote, solar-powered installations as well as offshore and mains-powered installations.

This article deals with the evolution of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. It was proclaimed in 2012 that the Somali pirate business model had been broken by a combination of coordinated naval patrols, heightened vessel security, and the ubiquitous presence of armed guards aboard valuable ships. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) attributed only 71 attacks to Somali pirates in the first 11 months of 2012, down from 237 the previous year. However, attacks are on the rise across the continent in the Gulf of Guinea, with 51 incidents recorded for the same period.

Wärtsilä Hamworthy, the global leader in environmental and liquid cargo handling solutions for the marine and oil & gas markets, has won a contract to supply sewage treatment plant to Eiffage Consortium for an accommodation platform for the second phase of Total’s OFON field off Nigeria. The order is included in Wärtsilä’s first quarter 2012 order book. Eiffage Consortium is constructing the platform from standard building blocks to be deployed in Oil Mining Lease 102, some 65km off the Nigerian coast, in water depths of 40 m. The platform will accommodate up to 140 personnel, generating around 45 m3/day tonnes of waste water per day.

Bourbon confirmed that on the night of the Tuesday, September 21 to Wednesday, September 22, during an attack on the offshore oil field of Addax off the Nigerian coast, Bourbon Alexandre, together with its 16 crewmembers, have been subject to a joint assault from several speedboats. Three crewmembers, of French nationality, have been kidnapped; the 13 other crewmembers have remained on board and nobody has been injured. No claim has been made at this stage. Bourbon Alexandre, carrying a French flag, is an AHTS Vessel (Anchor Handling Tug Supply). Bourbon has contacted all families and will keep them informed. The Crisis Unit of Bourbon in Marseilles…