General cargo ship attacked by pirates in Gulf of Guinea - 8 Crewmen taken Hostage (updated) #marsec

It has been reported that the general cargo ship BBC Caribbean was attacked by pirates in Gulf of Guinea on 45 nautical miles south-west off Brass, Nigeria.

The incident happened at around 1030 UTC Feb 5 in location 03 59N 005 29E, Pennington Oil Terminal, off Bayelsa, Nigeria,the cargo ship was approached by motor skiff with armed men on board, who opened fire.

The guards on board of the general cargo ship BBC Caribbean started a firefight with the pirates and the attack was averted

Pirates have kidnapped seven Russians and one Ukrainian, the Russian embassy said on its official Twitter account.

The embassy has asked Nigerian authorities to assist in locating the abducted people, it said late on Tuesday.

The accident was reported to local authorities and at the scene arrived navy boat, but failed to track the traces of the pirates.

ASKET - Extracted from various sources.

MDAT GoG Report:

05/02/2017 Piracy Attack 33Nm / 225° from Bayelsa State NIGERIA

On 5th February at around 1025Zhrs in position 03°58N/005°28E. A merchant vessel was attacked by 3 fast boats. Ten pirates armed with automatic guns came on board the vessel. Intruders stayed about 2 hours before leaving, bringing with them electronics devices and cash.

8 Crew members were abducted.