The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Saturday confirmed that six of its nationals were among the crew members abducted off the coast of Nigeria, from a C
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Saturday confirmed that six of its nationals were among the crew members abducted off the coast of Nigeria, from a Cameroon-flagged STEVIA cargo ship by pirates.
Foreign Ministry spokesman, Oleg Nikolenko, as quoted by the Ukrinform news agency, said the pirates had attacked the vessel in the Gulf of Guinea, Africa’s most economically active and oil-rich region.
He confirmed that the pirates captured eight members of the crew, 28 nautical miles (51.8 km) off the coast of Nigeria.
“Yes, we are aware of this situation. As a result of a pirate attack on the ship off the coast of Nigeria on Dec. 16, eight crew members were captured, including six Ukrainian citizens,” Nikolenko said.
According to the diplomat, the owner of the STEVIA cargo ship is an Albanian company, so both the Ukrainian embassy in Nigeria and Albania were taking appropriate response measures.
The daughter of one of the captured sailors, on Saturday, also said that there were six Ukrainians aboard the vessel.
Pirate activity in the region has increased in recent years, prompting Nigeria, Ghana, and other surrounding countries to set up a naval coordination operation to combat the phenomenon.
During July 2020, pirates kidnapped 15 crew from a tanker vessel up to 244 nautical miles from shore. The pirates were apparently supported by a mother ship allowing them to perpetrate their attacks beyond state counter piracy efforts. The attack was one of the furthest attacks from shore ever reported.
The prevalence of reported armed robbery, piracy and kidnapping cases comes despite various efforts to tackle these scourges both within Nigeria and on a regional West African level.
In early 2019, a new security programme called ‘Deep Blue Project’ was initiated where the government removed the previous secure anchorage arrangement and the Nigerian Navy is now responsible for maintaining safety and security in these waters.
In June 2019, a new act to tackle piracy received assent by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences Act 2019 (SPOMO). The new act was hailed as a success of initiatives such as the Yaoundé Code of Conduct with Nigeria becoming the first nation in the region to ratify a law to specifically combat piracy.
The purpose of SPOMO is to prevent and curb piracy, armed robbery and other unlawful acts against a ship. The act has widespread application whereby it applies to any person on board a ship or aircraft navigating in, on or above the territorial and internal waters of Nigeria or on above international waters.
The act has been lauded for its definition of piracy that is in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 and the inclusion of specific maritime offences and unlawful acts at sea, which include armed robbery at sea and acts other than piracy committed within Nigerian waters.
