20100922
africanews

PARIS (Reuters) - Three French men working for marine services supplier Bourbon were kidnapped off the coast of Nigeria, the company said on Wednesday, just a week after the abduction of five French nationals in Niger.

The kidnapping happened overnight after several speed boats attacked the Bourbon Alexandre vessel and its 16 crew members in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea. The 13 other crew members remained on board and nobody was injured, the company said.

France's foreign ministry confirmed the kidnappings.

"We are aware of it. The crisis centre has been mobilised," a spokesman said, declining to give further details.

Al Qaeda's North African wing (AQIM) claimed responsibility on Tuesday for the kidnapping of seven foreigners in Niger last week, including five French nationals, marking an escalation between the group and France.

However, there was no suggestion Wednesday's hostage-taking had any links to al Qaeda. Kidnappings are frequent in the Niger Delta, the heartland of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry and the target of frequent attacks by criminal gangs and insurgents calling for greater regional autonomy.

Before last week's attack, French authorities had said there were three foreign nationals being held overseas -- two in Afghanistan and one in Somalia. These latest kidnappings would take that tally to 11.

In 2008, 10 crew, including seven French men, were kidnapped on a Bourbon ship off Cameroon and freed 10 days later.