NIGERIA: PIRATES ATTACK OIL SUPPLY VESSELS AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000434 SIPDIS DOC FOR 3317/ITA/OA/KBURRESS DOC FOR 3130/USFC/OIO/ANESA/DHARRIS STATE PASS USTR FOR USTR AGAMA STATE PASS USAID FOR GWEYNAND AND SLAWAETZ STATE PASS OPIC FOR ZHAN AND MSTUCKART STATE PASS TDA FOR LFITT, PMARIN STATE PASS EXIM FOR JRICHTER STATE PASS OES FOR HOGAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/31/2018 TAGS: PHSA PREL PTER EFIS EPET KCRM KCOR NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: PIRATES ATTACK OIL SUPPLY VESSELS AND FISHING TRAWLERS; NO AMERICANS INVOLVED REF: LAGOS 409 Classified By: Consul General Donna M. Blair, Reasons 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (C) Summary: On October 25 and 26 in five separate incidents pirates attacked three oil supply vessels and six fishing trawlers, taking seventy Nigerian crewmen and seven Frenchmen hostage; by October 27 all hostages had been released. Bourbon Offshore, owner of two of the oil supply vessels attacked, will no longer operate in the area without military escort; the Nigerian Trawler Owners Association (NITOA) has reported the bank account into which it paid ransom to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Central Bank, as well as petitioned the Chief of Naval Staff and the National Assembly for the creation of a Coast Guard. In one instance, an entire village participated in plundering a fishing trawler during which, according to NITOA's president, the port captain called a contact at the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which intervened to release the crew, return the vessel and stolen goods and reportedly killed the pirate ringleaders. (Note: On the early morning of October 31 the oil suppport vessel Bourbon Sagita also operated by Bourbon Offshore was attacked while in Cameroonian waters, and at least 11 hostages were seized including six Frenchmen.) End Summary. Attacks on Oil Supply Vessels -------------- ¶2. (C) At 9:45 on October 25, "flying boats" (small open boats equipped with powerful outboard motors) attacked the oil supply vessel Bourbon Ajax, three miles outside the oil field where it operates. The vessel carried a crew of seven expatriates and ten Nigerians. The pirates first fired shots into the hull, then boarded the vessel and captured the crew and vessel. A Mayday message reached the ship's operator in Paris and the military Joint Task Force (JTF) promised to send assets from Bonny. The ship was taken to the Sombrero Estuary, where it ran aground. Here the pirates abandoned the ship and the crew was released unharmed. The entire incident lasted roughly six hours. According to the ship's operator at no time was there any sign of the JTF. ¶3. (C) At approximately 10:15 on October 25, pirates fired at the "Bourbon Atlanta" (name not verified). The captain took evasive action and prevented the pirates from boarding. This incident occurred roughly three nautical miles from the Fairway Buoy and too far from the Bourbon Ajax to have been carried out by the same pirates according to the Lagos Regional Security Officer. ¶4. (C) In roughly the same area as the second incident, armed men attacked, boarded and robbed the crew of the M/V "Emekuke" (name not verified). No hostages were taken and the vessel was not seized. Attacks on Fishing Vessels, "MEND" Rescues Crew -------------- -- ¶5. (C) In a single incident (timing unknown) on October 25 pirates seized five fishing trawlers operating off the Niger Delta and held the vessels and all sixty crewmen for ransom. The President of NITOA, Margaret Orakwusi, told PolOff on October 28 that the vessel's owner paid a ransom "in the millions" into a bank account held at a major Nigerian bank. The pirates released the sailors unharmed on October 27. ¶6. (C) On October 26 armed men operating from small boats attacked a sixth fishing vessel and forced it aground close to a coastal village. The crew reported that the entire village participated in looting the ship and the crew, subjecting the crew to beatings and threatening them with machetes. Village women demanded their "share" of the loot, particularly the shrimp catch. According to Orakwusi the port captain of the vessel's owner called someone associated with the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND. Reportedly, "MEND" sent armed men to the village, rescued the crew, returned all the stolen goods and equipment, and enabled the vessel to depart. MEND furthermore promised to "punish" the village involved in the attack, and Orakwusi believes that the six ring-leaders of the attack were LAGOS 00000434 002 OF 002 executed by MEND. NITOA Repeats Call for Coast Guard -------------- ¶7. (C) The Nigerian Trawler Owners' Association (NITOA) complained about the lack of security for fishing trawlers to the Chief of Naval Staff and the National Assembly, demanding the creation of a "Coast Guard" capable of providing effective protection against pirates, patrolling Nigeria's coastal economic zone against poachers and providing search and rescue for maritime emergencies. In addition, NITOA has reported the account numbers used by the pirates for the ransom payments to the EFCC and the Nigerian Central Bank. Bourbon Offshore refuses to continue operations without security protection for its vessels. ¶8. (C) Comment. These attacks appear to have been carried out by different pirates with varying levels of organization and sophistication. ¶9. (U) This cable has been cleared by Abuja. BLAIR