Pirates kidnap five crew members from cargo ship off NigeriaApril 29, 2013 - 15:05 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Pirates have kidnapped five crew members from a cargo ship off Nigeria, a piracy watchdog and a security source said on Monday, April 29, part of a growing trend of attacks that are pushing up maritime insurance costs in the Gulf of Guinea, Reuters reported. The Antigua and Barbuda-flagged MV City of Xiamen container ship was attacked late on April 25 off the coast of oil-producing Bayelsa state, a security source said. The crew were mostly Sri Lankans but included one member from Russia and another from Myanmar, the source said. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said 14 heavily armed pirates attacked the container ship, breached its citadel - a strong room designed to protect the crew from attack. The pirates took five crew captive before escaping with cash taken from the ship and the crew, the IMB said in a piracy report. Pirates in a speed boat off Nigeria chased and fired upon another container ship on April 24 but the vessel increased speed and escaped, the IMB said. West Africa is an important source of oil, cocoa and metals for world markets, but international navies are not engaged in counter-piracy missions at present. Many vessels are forced to anchor off Nigeria with little protection, making them a soft target for criminals. Naval patrols and the presence of armed guards aboard merchant vessels have helped reduce piracy off Somalia on Africa's eastern coast. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Director General of Ucom takes part in recruiting conference Ralph Yirikian participated in the Recruit Days business and networking conference organized by Move2Career. Ameriabank named Best Bank in Armenia for 2024 by Global Finance Ameriabank has been named the Best Bank in Armenia by Global Finance magazine in its 31st annual awards. Armenia to participate in key EU meeting for the first time ever National Assembly speaker Alen Simonyan has said that Armenia will for the first time participate in the Conference. Lavrov rejects Armenia’s “defamation” of Russia, CSTO Lavrov decried the Armenian leaders’ “defamation” of Russian soldiers and border guards deployed in Armenia. |