The nation’s military officials said Sunday they were yet to establish contact on the whereabouts or condition of the two Americans sailing on a United States flagged ship, who were kidnapped by pirates off the Nigerian coast.
According to the US National Broadcasting Company (NBC), the Nigerian military officials said that they were still searching for the two Americans as at Friday, who were kidnapped at sea off the Niger/Delta coast, which had witnessed an upsurge in the activities of pirates in recent years.
The latest kidnapping is coming as boat operators and traders in Oron, Akwa Ibom State, decried the increasing rate of piracy activities around the Calabar creeks.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the development had led to a hike in water transportation charges as the operators claim to be operating under risks.
But, Nigerian Navy Spokesman, Kabiru Aliyu, said: “Yes, we are aware that they are missing, but we still do not have any information on the whereabouts of the men. We have deployed search-and-rescue teams, who are currently combing the creeks. We are doing our best to find them.”
Aliyu told the NBC News that the ship had been found, but did not give more details as he said it was “somewhere off Bonny in the Eastern Naval Command Area of Responsibility.”
NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski reported that the constant flow of massive cargo ships in the Gulf of Guinea had become a fertile hunting ground for pirates.
US officials confirmed to NBC News that two Americans were taken on Wednesday last week in an area plagued by pirates, criminal gangs and active militant groups. The pirates boarded the ship and singled out the Americans, that is, the captain and chief engineer and took them ashore as hostages.
The US State Department Spokeswoman, Marie Harf, said: “We believe this was an act of piracy. At this point, we do not have information that would indicate this was an act of terrorism. Obviously, our concern at this point is for the safe return of the two US citizens.
“US officials were closely monitoring the situation and seeking more information:”
Speaking also, a former US State Department official, Andrew Shapiro, said on the TODAY Show on Friday, that: “This is not a Hollywood movie plot. Piracy and hijackings threaten our economic security and put innocent lives at risk.”
However, Nigerian officials echoed their American counterparts’ position on the issue, saying they believed that the abductions had been carried out by “criminals” and not politically motivated militants.
Maritime news website, Captain reported that the captain and chief engineer of oil supply vessel C-Retriever had been abducted.
Equally, C-Retriever’s insurer, Skuld, told NBC News that the ship was “not under the control of pirates.”
A US defence official said the State Department and FBI were leading the American response to the incident. A second defence official said the US Marine Corps had a small training unit in the region but it was not clear if it would get involved.
