Details remain sketchy about the whereabouts of three seafarers kidnapped from a tanker on Friday, south of the Opobo River mouth east of Port Harcourt.
The Nigeria-flagged vessel, Preyor I, was on its way to deliver automotive gas oil to Calabar on the country’s border with Cameroon when armed assailants boarded the ship, abducting the captain, chief engineer and cook.
According to local reports a ransom of $25 000 has since been issued for the seafarers.
The attack, allegedly executed by militia from Nigeria’s inland waterways, once more underscores the danger of sea operations in the Gulf of Guinea, especially along the Nigerian coast.
In January a military houseboat came under attack in upstream Opobo River.
Last June three Lebanese nationals were abducted in the same area.