Gunmen abduct Ukrainian, Greek

Gunmen suspected to be pirates have abducted an Ukrainian captain and a chief engineer after attacking a vessel 35 nautical miles off Brass waters in Bayelsa State.



The attacked ship, which was said to have a Marshall Island flag, was identified as MT. ALCHE.

Security sources identified the ship engineer as a Greek.

A security source said 18 crew members were onboard the ship when the hoodlums struck on Monday night.

The source, who pleaded anonymity, said while the gunmen robbed 16 others, they isolated the Greek and the Ukrainian and whisked them away to an unknown place.

“We don’t know their whereabouts. They attacked other crew members and dispossessed them of their belongings. They took the captain and the chief engineer away,” he said.

The source, however, said the victims’ employers have established communication with the kidnappers.

“Our waters, especially at the Brass axis, have become a death trap. Almost every day pirates harass and abduct expatriates. It is terrible,” he said.

The Media Coordinator, Joint Task Force (JTF), Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, said he was yet to be briefed.