Pirates in Nigeria have attacked at least two oil vessels in the offshore waters of the Niger Delta, briefly seizing a group of oil workers. Gunmen early Saturday hijacked the vessel Bourbon Ajax in the oil-producing delta, also taking 10 Nigerians on board hostage, two private security sources said. The boat and the captives were released a short time later. One security source said Canada's Addax Petroleum contracted the boat.
Insecurity in the heart of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry has shut down around a fifth of the OPEC member's oil production since early 2006.
Security experts have said that Nigeria's navy is ill equipped to deal with militants and pirates, who use small fast speedboats to navigate the delta's narrow creeks, forcing oil firms to take their own additional security measures. Foreign oil companies routinely hire private security contractors in southern Nigeria but are often cautious about explicit relationships with the military, whom militant and rights groups have in the past accused of human rights abuses.
Experts blame the delta's insecurity and chronic federal funding shortfalls for the country's inability to produce anywhere near its capacity of around 3 million barrels per day. Nigeria is currently pumping near 2 million bpd.