Rio-Spirit

The Nigerian navy foiled two pirate attacks on oil tankers on Feb 8, 2017, in the country’s Atlantic waters and freed 21 crew members. Troops intercepted the "Gaz Providence", seized by pirates a day earlier near Bonny Island, rescuing 21 crew members. The tanker ent a distress call which prompted the Nigerian Navy to dispatch the NNS "Okpabana" to the vessel. At 1:30 p.m. its crew boarded the oil tanker to investigate and gather information on the failed hijack attempt. The "Victory" of the Nigerian Navy also stopped gunmen from boarding another tanker, the "Rio Spirit", which had picked up cargo from the Qua Iboe Terminal run by Exxon Mobil Corp.’s local unit. The pirates attempted to hijack the oil tanker after she loaded products from QUA IBOE terminal in pos. 02 54N 004 52E, 170 nm southwest of Akassa, Brass. Not mindful of the fact that the vessel was under security cover by the operatives of the Nigerian Navy who were onboard a security vessel, the assailants swooped on the tanker in an attempt to hijack it. The Nigerian Navy operatives repelled the attack and secured the route of the vessel. Not deterred, the pirates made another effort to hijack the "Rio Spirit" 30 minutes after the first attempt which was also repelled. However, she was successfully escorted to safety as she continued her voyage.