Gunmen attack tanker off Nigeria: piracy watchdog

AFP

1 March 2012

Gunmen attack tanker off Nigeria: piracy watchdog

KUALA LUMPUR — Heavily armed gunmen fired on an oil tanker off the coast of Nigeria in the latest in a spate of pirate attacks in the increasingly treacherous Gulf of Guinea, a maritime watchdog said Thursday.

The Panamanian-flagged, Nigerian-owned vessel thwarted an attempted boarding by taking evasive action during the attack, which occurred Wednesday at about 2300 local time (2200 GMT), the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said.

It came one day after pirates shot their way onto a Dutch-owned cargo vessel in the area and kidnapped three hostages including the captain, according to the IMB's Kuala Lumpur-based piracy reporting centre.