Dredger crew kidnapped in Cameroon

From Maritime Journal

hopper dredger Amerigo Vespucci were kidnapped by an armed gang as the vessel worked in the Cameroon port of Douala on Sunday night.

Seven raiders armed with rocket launchers reportedly attacked the vessel, seizing a Croatian engineer and a Filipino deck hand before retreating by sea. The vessel, belonging to Belgian dredging and marine contracting giant Jan De Nul Group, returned safely to harbour following the attack, in which no one was injured. Jan De Nul has not mentioned if a ransom demand has been received. The company has established a crisis team, informed all concerned parties, and promised to do everything to assure the safety of the crew.

Cameroon officials have subsequently confirmed that a total of six sailors were taken from two different vessels without revealing the identities of the other four hostages. Security sources suspect the kidnappers are from the Niger Delta region.

The kidnappings are not considered an act of piracy as the attack occurred within Cameroon’s territorial waters. It is not the first such incident in the port of Douala this year. In May two Russian crew were taken from the Greek cargo ship North Spirit when it was docked in the harbour and, only a few minutes later, an armed gang boarded the reefer ship Argo and abducted its Lithuanian master. The three victims were subsequently released in Nigeria some two months later.

The 1985 built 3,500 cu.m capacity trailing suction split-hopper Amerigo Vespucci began four years of dredging works in 2009, maintaining and deepening the access channel to Cameroon’s largest port, which is also the country’s largest city. Some 7 million cu/m of dredged material is scheduled for removal by 2013.

 

Photo Mercator Media 2010

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