Wednesday 10th September

 Gunmen hijack vessel and crew
 Maritime robberies
 Youths seize oil facility
 Rivers official: attempted abduction
 American filmmaker deported
 Nigeria has no nuclear deal with Iran
 And then there’s this…

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Gunmen hijack vessel and crew

 
Unidentified gunmen hijacked an oil industry supply vessel with five expatriate and 8 Nigerians on board yesterday.

 
The H.D. Blue Ocean, was attacked at approx 13:30 GMT at the entrance of the Sambreiro River near Bonny Fair Way Buoy. Initial attempts to contact the ship went unanswered. It was sighted later in a helicopter flyover of the area later in the day.

 
The vessel was reported to still be in the area of its capture but looked to have run aground. No information was available on the hostages at the time of compiling this brief. Military officials were not immediately able to confirm the attack. At the time of writing the nationalitiesof all held was yet to be confirmed but is it reported that South African, Croatian, Malaysian and Filipinos are included. An unknown number of security men are also being reported as having been onboard.

 
Related: Gunmen attacked a vessel operated by the local unit of Italian energy group Eni close to Sambreiro early on Sunday, killing one crew member. See Chief’s Briefs 08.09.08 That attack came barely three weeks after gunmen hijacked a supply vessel belonging to oil services company West Africa Offshore with eight Nigerian crew members as it returned from the Agbami offshore field operated by U.S. firm Chevron. See Chief’s Briefs 05.08.09

Maritime robberies

 
In a separate incident a day earlier sailors were subjected to assault. Bergen Risk Solutions had the following to report.

 
08.09.08: A supply vessel, the Polaris, was attacked at the Okwori field some 35 nm SW of Bonny when gunmen arrived in two speed boats after dark. The field’s Field Security Vessel (FSV) – Lady Faith – reportedly, did not intervene. A source claims the pirates fired a number of shots at her, resulting in her retreat. With the FSV gone the pirates boarded and ransacked the Polaris, stealing personal belongings and damaging equipment. When they left the crew had problems restarting the main engines, and was drifting for some time before help arrived. The anchor handling tug supply vessel Bourbon Apsara, which was present, managed to escape unharmed by sailing for deeper waters.

 
Comment: The Okwori field was also attacked on April 24, when the Bourbon Apsara was robbed – and on June 9 when the Autry G attached to Addax was hijacked. Addax Petroleum’s Okwori field lies some 35nm SW of Bonny. Saipem’s semi-submersible rig Scarabeo 3 and BW Offshore’s FPSO Sendje Berge are operating on or near Okwori but there are no reports of damage or injury on these vessels. One security source said “the FSV on the field did a good job”. BRS has no information on how many security vessels were present at the time of the attack.

 
Chief’s Briefs Question of the Day: So is ‘robbery and ransom’ the new ‘toll’ for travelling and working in the waterways of the Niger Delta?

Youths seize oil facility

 
Youths, suspected to be from the Sangana Community in Brass Council, Bayelsa State yesterday invaded the platform of Conoil, holding hostage six mobile policemen on guard and other staff of the company. No motive is yet known for the invasion but it is suspected to be over ‘unresolved community issues’.

 
Comment: The armed youths were reportedly dressed in military camouflage and shot sporadically into the air as they approached the oil platform in six speedboats. Security networks of the Navy are said to have expressed concern over the safety of those being held.

 
The incident occurred in the early hours of yesterday, 9 September. Commander of the Joint Military Task Force, Lt.-Col. Chris Musa, said that all that would be done to ensure that they dislodge the youths.

Rivers official: attempted abduction

 
Security sources are reporting that gunmen abducted Port Harcourt Mayor, (LGA Chairman) Hon, Azubuike Nmerukini from his residence in the Mile 2, Diobu area of the city around 23:50hrs last night.

 
Comment: Combined security forces responded quickly and he was rescued and released at Iwofe waterfront. 2 AK47’s, 1 magazine, a Hilux vehicle and a radio are listed as items being recovered after the criminals apparently fled.

American filmmaker deported

 
Andrew Berends, an American filmmaker who was arrested last week and accused of spying, was deported by Nigeria on Tuesday, he said. Mr. Berends had been working on a documentary about militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta when he was detained. Nigerian officials could not be reached for comment. “It’s a travesty, because I love Nigeria,” Mr. Berends said Tuesday night before boarding a flight to Germany.

 
Comment: Berends was detained by the SSS for 10 days. US State Department officials have confirmed his release and departure from the country. His translator, Samuel George, continues to face interrogation.

 
Background: Military personnel arrested Berends and George on 31 August and handed them over to state security agents in Port Harcourt. Security forces detained Berends for 36 hours after his arrest and ordered him to report for day-long interrogations. Berends was provisionally released into the custody of the U.S. Embassy in Abuja over the weekend. George remained in custody throughout the week but was also temporarily released over the weekend. George is scheduled to report to security officials again today.

 
The filmmaker entered Nigeria in April to work on a documentary called “Delta Boys,” sponsored by the New York-based Tribeca Film Institute, about the Niger Delta region’s oil conflict. Filmmakers working on the documentary “Sweet Crude” were detained in April this year and held on unsubstantiated charges.

Nigeria has no nuclear deal with Iran

 
The Federal government said said again that it has no nuclear deal with Iran. Minister of Foreign Affairs Ojo Maduekwe disclosed this in Abuja while briefing newsmen after a meeting with U.S. government representatives. The delegation included David Kramer, U.S. assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, and his deputy, Jeffery Krilla.

 
The minister was reacting to speculations that Nigeria might have signed a nuclear deal with Iran on 28 August in Abuja. According to him, there is no agreement signed by the government with Iran on nuclear weapons, adding that Nigeria is a very responsible member of the international community and would always be so.

 
“On the issue of non-proliferation of nuclear energy, we are absolutely in tandem with the international community,” he said. Maduekwe said nothing will make Nigeria support Iran on the issue, noting that if Iran is clearly breaking treaty obligations or is moving in a direction that is opposed to what the IAEA is insisting on, Nigeria will not support it. He expressed the need for safe guards on nuclear energy, adding that there ought to be transparency about it.

And then there’s this…

Okada commuters resist wearing of helmets in Lagos

 
Some Lagos commuters who travel by commercial motorcycles, locally known as “Okadas”, have rejected the wearing of helmets, saying it could serve as a means of spreading diseases.

 
The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) said last month that enforcement of the wearing of helmets by both Okada riders and their passengers would commence next month. However, some locals are already protesting the plans claiming that it is not hygienic for people to be wearing the same helmet.

 
Another Chief’s Briefs question of the day: So what do you think? Hygiene or ‘Hair Do’? Is this just a way for the ‘Madams’ to protect their latest ‘weave-on’? Is this a campaign started by their men to save on forking out further funds for fixes of same or what? Health concerns or conspiracy of cash conscious spouses? Are the Lagos residents right?

 
We ask because obviously the law should only be enforced on the drivers as we all know that passengers are NEVER injured when one of these bikes runs up the back end of a truck or slides off the road. Right? This story we feel earns today’s awarding of our world famous WTF graphic. We hope you agree.[pay]