High risk waters

Captains,

Last week, a kidnapping in the Niger Delta reminded me that piracy, armed robbery and kidnappings happen daily and threaten seafarers throughout the world. According to news reports, the rig workers were taken off the Transocean rig by a militant group called Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), and that U.S. State Department officials are working with the Nigerian government to secure their release.

Coast Guard international port security officers recently visited Nigeria and report that some progress is being made in the ports and on deep water operations, but rigs in the Niger Delta are particularly vulnerable. Tight vessel security remains the best defense for ships and rigs in high risk waters such as this.

RADM W

Gunmen attack rig off Nigeria

Posted Tue Nov 9, 2010 11:28am AEDT

Gunmen have attacked an oil rig off Nigeria's coast, taking two Americans, two French and one Canadian hostage while wounding two other people, security sources say.

The pre-dawn attack on Monday took place in the country's turbulent Niger Delta region, the heart of one of the world's largest oil industries.

Most kidnappings in the region are for ransom, but it is not immediately clear whether a demand has been made.

"A security breach has occurred on the High Island VII jackup rig, which had recently arrived on location, preparing to commence infill drilling at the Okoro field," a statement from Afren, the company that oversees the rig, said.

"Two crew members are stable after receiving wounds to the leg and have been evacuated by helicopter to a shore-based clinic."