The captain and first officer of the 3,286-dwt C-Retriever (built 1999) were takenfrom the Gulf of Guinea in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Reuters saidquoting security sources.
While piracy in East Africa is one the wane, there has beena surge in attacks in the oil rich waters off the west of the continent.
A recent report by the International Maritime Bureauhighlighted more than 40 attacks in the region during the first three quartersof the year, with 132 crew taken hostage and seven vessels hijacked.
The Gulf of Guinea accounted for all crew kidnappingsworldwide, 32 of them off Nigeria, and two off Togo.
Nigeria, the main source of piracy in the region, accountedfor 29 incidents, including two hijackings, 11 boardings, 13 vessels fired uponand three attempted attacks.
