French Ship Falls To Pirates Off Nigeria, 9 Crew Seized

January 5, 2009 11:02 p.m. EST

Paris, France (AHN) - A French shipping company said on Monday its supply vessel with nine crew had been seized by pirates off Nigeria's coast.

A statement from the platform supply ship operator Bourbon said its Bourbon Leda was attacked off Bonny, a major oil and gas terminal in southern Nigeria, from Saturday night to Sunday morning. The company said it had contacted the ship's captain and learned that the five Nigerian, two Ghanaian, one Cameroonian and one Indonesian crew members are safe and in good health.

It was the second Bourbon ship hijacked by pirates off Nigeria. The previous attack was in October.

Two Bourbon sailors were also kidnapped in a bar in Onne port in August and released the following month.

Incidents of kidnapping, sabotage and piracy in the Niger Delta have increased since 2006 as oil exploration activities intensified in the sub-Sahara African country.