Another hi-jacking has occurred near the coast of Nigeria, this makes the third hi-jacking of an oil tanker in the Gulf of Guinea area in two weeks. This latest occurred Tuesday evening.

This time, according to the International Maritime Bureau, the ship was a Singapore-owned tanker. The IMB said the tanker was hi-jacked as it lay in the port of Lagos. The Nigerian government disagreed and said that the hi-jacking occurred further off-shore.

According to the Nigeria Port Authority spokesman, Michael Ajayi, “There has been no hijacking of vessels in the Lagos ports. In fact, it cannot happen and it has never happened. If there was any seizure it would be on the high sea.”

But, there are confirmed reports of vessels being hi-jacked as they sat moored awaiting docking at the port.

The IMB’s Piracy Reporting Center in Kuala Lampur said that the tanker had 23 crew aboard and was laden with oil. They stated further that the pirates were sailing the vessel out to the open sea. They had no information as to how the hi-jacking occurred however.

The crew, according to reports from the IMB, has locked themselves in a saferoom aboard the vessel.

The Nigerian Navy has identified the vessel as the Abu Dhabi Star.

IMB head, Noel Choong stated that they suspect the same criminal syndicate is behind all three hi-jackings, this one and the other two late last month. He said that the modus operendi is identical to the earlier two. If that is the case, after the ship’s cargo is taken, the pirates will release the ship and crew. This is unlike the at-sea hi-jackings that take place off of the Somali Coast where pirates hold the ship and crew for randsom after ransacking the vessel.

The sea piracy in the area has been increasing over the past year and it is reported that there have been at least 37 such incidents this year alone.

UPDATE:7:45 am

It has been confirmed by other sources, that vessel, the Abu Dhabi Star has been retaken and is traveling back toward the vessel mooring area outside the port of Lagos and is underway at 9.2 knots. It is currently less than one nautical mile from the vessels moored at the outskirts of the area that contains about 100 vessels currently moored or underway.This observation was made at 7:45 am Alaska Time.

The Nigerian Navy came along-side the vessel, took control and found the crew unharmed and the pirates nowhere to be found.