Gunmen hijack supply vessel in Nigeria

By Austin Ekeinde

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen in Nigeria's Niger Delta hijacked a supply ship working for U.S. oil major Chevron and are demanding a ransom for the release of the vessel and its crew, the army said on Wednesday.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Sagir Musa said the unidentified hijackers were demanding 30 million naira (130,890 pounds) in ransom for the release of the vessel and its 11-person crew, who included two foreigners, one Portuguese and one Ukrainian.

The armed men seized the ship, the MV Lourdes Tide, on Tuesday, in the latest in a series of recent militant attacks and sabotage in the world's eighth-largest oil exporter that have helped pushed world oil prices to new record highs.

The rebel Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said in an emailed statement it was not responsible for the hijacking.

At the time it was seized, the Lourdes Tide, operated by oil services firm Tidewater Nigeria Ltd, was carrying supplies from Onne in Rivers state to Escravos in neighbouring Delta state in the oil-producing region.

"We do not know who is responsible," Musa said. But he added the hijackers wanted the ransom money delivered at Efoko, New Calabar river, near Port Harcourt, the Niger Delta's main city.

Chevron said it had reported the incident to the Nigerian authorities and was supporting Tidewater in its efforts to obtain the release of the crew.

"We will continue to monitor the area closely and take appropriate security measures to ensure protection of all personnel," Chevron corporate media adviser Margaret Cooper said in a statement from Houston.