Violence and kidnappings in the Niger Delta are triggered by decisions made inside multinational oil company boardrooms in far away lands. These interventionist activities in turn affect the global price of oil. It is no less a symbiotic relationship than any other.

Armed men in speedboats have abducted a Romanian crew member after an attack on an oil tanker off Nigeria’s southern coast, security sources say.

The MT Meredith, loaded with 4,000 tonnes of diesel, was badly damaged in the attack early on Wednesday.

“The ship called for assistance as its engine and superstructure were reported to have been seriously damaged,” a private security source, who asked not to be named, said.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), which wants greater autonomy for the region, claimed that an “affiliate group” carried out the attack.

Read more