A Chinese vessel, MV Feng Shun Shan, was on Wednesday night attacked by four suspected armed robbers at Berth 9 of the Lagos Port Complex (LPC), an official with the GMT Shipping Nigeria Ltd told Xinhua.

A deputy general manager of the company in Nigeria, Babatunde Joseph, disclosed this to Xinhua on telephone on Friday, saying the vessel had sailed into the port on Tuesday.

"About 22:00 hours on Wednesday, four armed men came with a flying boat and used their rope to come on board the vessel," he told Xinhua.

He said the hoodlums met the Chinese Commissar Duty officer and one of the crew members on board, adding that the operation lasted 15 minutes. 

Joseph said the hoodlums were unable to shoot in order not to attract attention, adding however that the duty officer was severely beaten. He said the wounded officer had been taken to a hospital in Lagos.

He told Xinhua that the robbers made away with a walkie talkie, one mobile phone and some cabin keys of the vessel.

The hoodlums, he added, were unable to enter the residential area of the vessel.

A spokesperson for the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) confirmed the incident to Xinhua on phone.

The attack came a day before the Nigerian government said it will provide adequate security in the nation's territorial waters against piracy and armed robbery attacks on ships.

Transport Minister Yusuf Suleiman said this in a key-note address delivered on Thursday in Lagos at the event to mark the World Maritime Day.

The minister said the most serious concern was the piracy attacks in waters off the coast of Somalia and Indian Ocean, saying that government was deeply concern about the problems.

The minister observed that the two crimes on the high seas were major problems confronting seafarers, saying that government would combat them through the introduction of policies and programs.

Suleiman listed the programs to include an integrated maritime security and surveillance centre and the long range identification and tracking system.

The minister told his audience that relevant maritime agencies under the Federal Ministry of Transport had also collaborated with the Nigerian Navy and Marine Police to stem the crimes in the nation's territorial waters.

Go to Forum >>0 Comments