'recover hijacked Saudi tanker
... one pirate killed, 16 of 18 hostages rescued'
Photo: AP
Arrested pirates held by Nigerian Navy in Lagos
The pirates who had earlier hijacked a Saudi Arabian tanker, MT MAXIMUS. It was learnt that the vessel, which was renamed MT ELVIS-5 by the pirates, was loaded with 4700 metric tons of AGO. The vessel was on chartered by a South Korean company. The pirates were later arrested off the Coast of Sao Tome after a gun exchange with naval forces, that left one of the pirates dead. Two of the pirates escaped from the stolen vessel taking two crew members hostage, a Pakistani and an Indian. The arrested pirates were identified as Captain Mike Ogboroma, Ayo Joshua, Marcus Adesoji, Adeyemi Paul, Oluwafemi Samuel and Collins Friday.
Photo: AP
The pirates and their waapons cache
An American vessel that witnessed the hijack radioed the Togolese Navy who notified the Nigerian counterparts
which then deployed three naval vessels to the rescue the hijacked tanker. One pirate was killed during the rescue mission as the pirates engaged the Nigerian Navy in a fire fight.The pirates and their waapons cache
Photo: AP
Pirate Killed in exchange of fire with security forces
Confirming the arrest, the Chief of Naval Training and Operations
(CTOP), Rear Admiral Henry Babalola, said the naval team was highly
professional and was cautious to avoid a fire outbreak.
Speaking to journalists, the captain of the oil vessel, Pillai Krishna,
said the pirates were highly sophisticated as they came on board with
grenades and military grade arsenal.
He said: “It was unexpected and they were obviously prepared for the
operation. This is my 10th year as a seaman and I haven’t experienced
anything like this before.
“I want to commend the men of the Nigerian Navy. They swore to give
their lives for us. But I want to plead that our two colleagues who were
taken hostage to be released.”
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