W. Africa pirates attack Ghanaian ship, hold sailors for ransom off of disputed peninsula

W. Africa pirates hold sailors for ransom

LAGOS, Nigeria — Pirates attacked a Ghanaian ship and kidnapped two sailors for ransom off the coast of Cameroon, the latest attack near a long-disputed peninsula in the West African nation, a Nigerian naval official said Tuesday.

Pirates boarded the MV Gull early Saturday morning as it skirted around the Bakassi Peninsula on its way to neighboring Nigeria. The pirates quickly seized control of the vessel, but quickly discovered it carried no lucrative cargo, said Nigerian Navy Commodore David Nabaida.

“When they didn’t get anything of any value, they decided to kidnap the captain” and another officer, Nabaida told The Associated Press.

The pirates disappeared with the two men and have yet to make a ransom demand, Nabaida said. The Nigerian navy later escorted the ship to the port city of Calabar.

The attack comes as acts of violent piracy have increased along the West African coast. Earlier this month, pirates who identified themselves as the “Africa Marine Commando” group kidnapped seven Chinese nationals working for a fishing company off the Bakassi Peninsula, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported. The workers were released several days later after negotiations by the Cameroon and Chinese governments with the group.

In 2008, pirates in the same region kidnapped and later released seven French and three African workers for French oil giant Total.

The Bakassi Peninsula, once believed to be an oil-rich region like the nearby Niger Delta, once nearly sparked a war between Cameroon and Nigeria. Nigeria handed over the peninsula in 2008 after an international court found that Cameroon was the rightful owner.

Militant groups want the peninsula to secede from Cameroon and are waging a low-level war against the government. Nigeria estimated in 2008 that some 300,000 of its citizens live on the peninsula.