Nigeria: Pirates attack Norwegian freighter off Nigeria

(SomaliNet) A Norwegian freighter was attacked by pirates off Nigeria early on Wednesday, reports said.

A report said the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre for southern Norway was alerted about the attack against the Spar Gemini off Port Harcourt.

The online edition of the Bergens Tidende newspaper said a rescue centre spokesperson said eight of the ten pirates were armed but there were no reports of serious injuries during the roughly two-hour long attack.

The attackers tied up the crew and roughed up some of them, and stole equipment and money from the vessel.

All of the 22-strong crew were said to be Indian nationals. The ship is operated by a Bergen-based company.

The International Maritime Bureau\'s Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia had been informed about the incident, the Norwegian rescue centre said.

Last week the international piracy watchdog warned of increasingly violent attacks on seafarers, particularly in waters off Nigeria and Somalia. - Sapa-dpa