Dare devil pirates attacked Addax oil production vessel off Nigeria and kidnapped nine Nigerian nationals, its owner BW Offshore said. The floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO), the Sendje Berge, was producing oil from the Okwori oilfield operated by Addax Petroleum, a part of China’s Sinopec Group. “The incident onboard the FPSO has ended and none of those remaining onboard have suffered physical injuries,” the Oslo-listed company said in a statement. The attack was on Addax Off-Shore facility operators of the OML 126. Confirming the development, Mr. Emmanual Maiguwa, General Secretary, Maritime Security Providers Association of Nigeria, MASPAN, said that he could not say much on the matter because the details were still sketchy. It was however gathered that the attacks could be a result of the demands made by a group in the Niger-Delta area asking for the removal of Mr. Godswill Akpabio from the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
Efforts to get Mr. Adeyinka Adeyemi for reaction was futile as he did not pick calls made to his phone nor respond to text messages. Commenting on the development, Captain Waredi Enisouh, a former Director of Shipping development at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, said that if the socio-economic challenges of the region were taken care of, these kinds of situation will continue to repeat itself from time to time. He also said that even the United States of America cannot protect itself 24/7then talk less of Nigeria and suggested that the region was be developed to meet the aspiration and yearnings of people of the region.
He said that carrying attacks on the platforms in the sea is a very expensive venture adding that it was desperation that would push people to do that. He said: “To go and attack somebody or attack a platform at sea is a very expensive venture even for those carrying out the act. So the question is why people have become so desperate to endanger their lives by going that far, if you can answer that question, then you will find solution to the problem because as you are planning, they are also planning. You just have to ensure that you have a socio-economic plan to engage people because if you do not engage people, they are going to find a way to survive because at the end of the day we will bear the brunt of their action.”
