[September 22 2010]
Three French employees of marine services company Bourbon have been kidnapped in an attack on one of its ships in an oil field off Nigeria, the company said today. Bourbon said in a statement on its website that no claim of responsibility has been made for the assault on the ship, the Bourbon Alexandre, which occurred Tuesday night or early Wednesday.
Bourbon said several speedboats were involved in the assault on the ship. Bourbon spokeswoman Christa Roqueblave said the attackers kidnapped three French employees, then sped away. The company said the 13 other crew members "remained aboard, and no injuries were reported." It said the families of the hostages have been contacted.
The French-flagged vessel was working in an offshore oil field operated by Addax Petroleum, a subsidiary of Chinese oil producer Sinopec Group. Commodore David Nabaida, a Nigerian naval spokesman said that he was aware of only one French citizen kidnapped during the attack. He confirmed the attack and said naval authorities are investigating. He declined further comment.