The Nigerian Navy has foiled an attempted hijacking of a merchant vessel some 16 nautical miles off the coast of Bonny in the Niger Delta region.
Six persons in a skiff boarded a general cargo ship underway in the early morning hours on July 13, according to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre.
IMB added that the alarm was raised, the ship security alarm system (SSAS) was activated and all crew retreated to the citadel. The Nigerian Navy boarded the ship and found all crew safe.
The vessel in question was reportedly the 2012-built general cargo ship UAL Houston, operated by US-based shipping firm UAL America.
According to AIS data provided by Marine Traffic, the 8,703 dwt vessel is currently on its way from Nigeria’s port of Onne to the port of Luba in Equatorial Guinea.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.