Armed men staged a night raid on a Greek oil tanker anchored in a Cameroonian port and abducted eight crewmen, including the vessel’s Greek captain, the Merchant Marine Ministry and the ship’s owner said on Tuesday.
The five Greeks, two Filipinos and a Ukrainian were part of a 28-member crew aboard the ‘Happy Lady’ in the port of Limbe, near the economic capital Douala, AFP reported, citing officials. “An armed group boarded the tanker and ordered eight crew members including the 45-year-old captain to disembark,” a representative of owner Eastern Mediterranean Athens (EMA) said.
One crewman, a Greek national, was receiving treatment at a local Cameroonian hospital for a wound to the ankle by a stray bullet, according to port police.
The attack occurred at around 11:30pm (22:30 GMT) on Monday, the EMA representative said, adding that there was no exchange of fire as the crew was not armed. Cameroonian authorities have not confirmed the attack, the third such incident in a month, of which two targeted Greek vessels.