TWO INCIDENTS IN THE NIGER DELTA

C O N F I D E N T I A L LAGOS 000031 SIPDIS SIPDIS DOE FOR GPERSON, CGAY TREASURY FOR ASEVERENS, SRENENDER, DFIELDS COMMERCE FOR KBURRESS STATE PASS USTR FOR ASST USTR FLISER STATE PASS TRANSPORTATION FOR MARAD STATE PASS OPIC FOR ZHAN AND MSTUCKART STATE PASS TDA FOR NCABOT STATE PASS EXIM FOR JRICHTER STATE PASS USAID FOR GWEYNAND AND SLAWAETZ STATE PASS DS/IP/AF, DS/IP/ITA, DS/ICI/PII E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/27/2016 TAGS: EPET ENERG ASEC PTER CASC NI SUBJECT: TWO INCIDENTS IN THE NIGER DELTA Classified By: Consul General Brian Browne for Reasons 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (C) Summary: Security sources reported two separate incidents in the Niger Delta, occurring on January 16 and 17. The first incident was an attack by militants on a boat carrying Hyundai employees. One Dutch expatriate and one Joint Task Force (JTF) officer were killed and four others on the vessel were wounded. In the second incident, security contacts reported a distress call from a vessel carrying 22 passengers. The captain of the vessel, purportedly an American citizen, reported the vessel was being pursued by four speed boats off shore of Rivers State. End summary. One Dutch Expatriate, One Nigerian Killed In Attack -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) On January 16, militants attacked a boat in the vicinity of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Abacha Platform in Rivers State. The vessel was transporting ten Hyundai employees (some of whom were expatriates),escorted by two naval Joint Task Force (JTF) personnel, from Port Harcourt to Bonny Port. A security source at Chevron reported to Regional Security Officer (RSO) that one Dutch national and one JTF soldier were killed and four others wounded in the attack. ¶3. (C) The Chevron security source posited two possible motives for the attack. The first was that followers of Ateke Tom, a militant leader, sought retaliation for the reported arrest or killing of their leader. (Note: The possible arrest or killing of Ateke Tom has not been confirmed. End note). The second possible motive for the attack was armed robbery, with the militants reportedly fleeing with an unspecified amount of money. Vessel Pursued By Fast Boats -------------- ¶4. (C) At approximately 8:30am on January 17, Regional Security Officer (RSO) received a phone call from an ArmorGroup security contact, who stated that one of his security consultants had monitored a distress call from a boat captain who reportedly was an American citizen. The vessel, Deep Stim, reportedly was being pursued by four speed boats and requested assistance. The captain reported 22 passengers or crew (PACs). ¶5. (C) ArmorGroup told RSO that Deep Stim was a vessel operated by TransOcean. RSO contacted the CRG Operations Manager for Nigeria, who confirmed the report. The Manager added that the CRG consultant with TransOcean was working with another CRG consultant at Brass Island (Brass LNG) to coordinate the vessel diverting to Brass Island, where there is a significant military presence. Apparently, the vessel made it safely to Brass Island. BROWNE