PIRATES KIDNAP AMERICAN MARINERS

Suspected pirates attacked an oil vessel and took two American mariners hostage. The abduction of the two Americans came barely two days after Exercise African Winds organised by the African Partnership Station (APS) during which it vowed to tackle piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.The mariners who were said to be US citizens, were abducted off a C-Retriever, an oil platform supply vessel, off the coast of Brass in Nigerian waters. The victims were simply identified as the captain and chief engineer of the oil tanker and were said to be working for the C-Retriever, owned by Louisiana-based Edison Chouest Offshore.When contacted, the Director Information, Nigerian Navy (NN), Commodore Kabir Aliyu, confirmed the incident, adding that personnel of the navy had instituted a search and rescue party.