Russian Navy vessel seized in Gulf of Guinea, reports say

This may include adverts from us and 3 rd parties based on our understanding. The vessel MSC Lucia was reportedly boarded by an unknown number of attackers in the Gulf of Guinea, off the coast of Nigeria. The seizure of the Russian Navy-flagged vessel MSC Lucia was halted by Panama-flagged destroyer, according to reports.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that the anti-submarine ship Vice-Admiral Kulakov, Udaloy-class destroyer, received a distress signal from MSC Lucia as it sailed into the Gulf of Guinea between Togo and Cameroon in West Africa. Armed hijackers had reportedly boarded the ship with a small speedboat and approached as the crew hid in the engine room. Maritime monitors, including Dryad Global, said the incident took place 86 nautical miles southwest of Agbami Terminal. The location is part of Nigeria's oil-rich Agbami Field.

MSC Lucia, owned by the Mediterranean Shipping Company, failed to report its position off the coast of Brass, according to MarineTraffic. The news comes after last week President Putin, 69, said that the Western-backed military development of Ukraine posed a threat to Russia. The comments followed two days after the US defence secretary Lloyd Austin staged a show of support for Kyiv and encouraged its aspiration to join NATO. Putin spoke to journalists and Russian experts about Mr Austin s visit to Ukraine, when he said no third country could have the right to veto the country s hoped NATO membership, which had paved the way for Kyiv to join.

READ MORE: Putin and Xi Jinping in joint warning to West with stark naval patrol.