PIRATES have seized 20 eastern European sailors on an oil tanker off the coast of Nigeria, escalating piracy activities in the oil-rich region from low-level armed robberies to hijackings and cargo thefts.
According to a spokesman for the vessel’s owner, United Product Tankers GmbH & Co. KG in Hamburg, Germany, the MT Cape Bird was hijacked about 90 nautical miles from Lagos on Saturday night and was still drifting there as at yesterday with the sailors and pirates onboard.

The spokesman could not comment on whether or not contact had been established with the vessel and did not know the nationalities of the sailors.
He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with company policy, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
The Nigerian Navy has said it received reports that the vessel was carrying either crude oil or refined gasoline. The United Product Tankers spokesman said the cargo was an oil product, but that he did not think it was crude.
Nigerian Navy vessels have orders to stop the tanker if they find it and to arrest the hijackers.