Captain, 7 crew abducted from Greek oil tanker in Cameroon port
Last updated on: 31 December,2019 10:51 pm
Cameroonian authorities did not confirm the attack, the third such incident in a month
DOUALA (AFP) - Armed men staged a night raid on a Greek oil tanker anchored in a Cameroonian port and abducted eight crewmen, including the vessel’s Greek captain, the merchant marine ministry and the ship’s owner said Tuesday.
The five Greeks, two Filipinos and a Ukrainian were part of a 28-member crew aboard the Happy Lady in the port of Limbe, near the economic capital Douala, the ministry said in a statement.
Cameroonian authorities did not confirm the attack, the third such incident in a month, of which two targeted Greek vessels.
However, a port source did confirm it, adding that an investigation was under way.
The source noted that Limbe, which is close to a naval base, had until now been spared abductions in the Gulf of Guinea region which is a regular target for sea piracy.
"An armed group boarded the tanker and ordered eight crew members including the 45-year-old captain to disembark," a representative of owner Eastern Mediterranean Athens (EMA) told AFP, requesting anonymity.
One crewman, a Greek national, was receiving treatment at a local Cameroonian hospital for a wound to the ankle by a stray bullet, port police said in a statement.
The attack occurred at around 11:30 pm (2230 GMT) on Monday, the EMA representative said, adding there was no exchange of fire as the crew was not armed.
"Merchant Marine Minister Yannis Plakiotakis... is following developments closely, along with the Greek foreign ministry and the oil tanker’s operator," the merchant marine ministry statement said.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke to Plakiotakis by telephone, asking him "to carry out all the necessary operations to ensure that this incident ends well," a government statement said.
Piracy has disrupted the operations of sub-Saharan Africa’s two main oil producers -- Nigeria and Angola -- and severely upset international maritime transport essential to the continent, costing billions of dollars.