Cameroon Search Begins For Seized Vessels

Yaounde – The Cameroonian navy was on Tuesday searching for pirates who attacked two ships and abducted six foreign workers off the seaport of Douala, a naval officer said.

Two Luxembourg-flagged ships, the Supply Marilyn McColl and the Amerigo Vespucci, were boarded by the pirates at a waiting area on a small island known as “Boue de base” on their way to Doula.

“While waiting to leave the island, heavily armed pirates came on board, overpowered the crew and seized the six,” said Helen Schilinck, a spokesperson for the Belgian company that employed two of the kidnapped sailors.

A naval officer, speaking under condition of anonymity, said a Filipino and a Croat were among those kidnapped.
A search party is combing Cameroon’s coastal waters, looking for the boats, he said.

Pirate attacks are becoming increasingly common off the coast of West Africa. In March this year, seven Chinese nationals were kidnapped off the Bakassi Peninsula in south-west Cameroon, although hey were freed later.

The attacks are blamed largely on militant groups based in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta. – Sapa-dpa