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Yaoundé (AFP)

Nine Chinese and eight Ukrainian seamen were abducted in attacks on two merchant ships off Cameroon, in the latest act of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, sources said Friday.

The attacks took place on Thursday in Cameroonian waters off the port of Douala, located at the apex of a gulf that has become a hotspot of seaborne crime.

A Douala official told AFP on Friday that a total of 17 people had been abducted, including "nine Chinese civilian sailors" from one of the ships.

A Cameroonian security official, likewise speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the account.

The Cameroonian navy and the country's port service had reported the kidnappings on Thursday but had been unable to give the number or nationality of those taken.

A navy source said the kidnappers "are probably Nigerian pirates," adding that Cameroon's security forces had launched a search for them.

The Gulf of Guinea, whose coastline stretches in a huge arc from Liberia to Gabon, is notorious for piracy as well as oil theft, illegal fishing and human and drugs trafficking.

In Malaysia, Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), a watchdog agency, said the 17 seamen were seized from two ships that were attacked within hours of each other while they were anchored off Douala.

Choong said one of the ships was a multipurpose German-owned ship that flew the flag of Antigua and Barbuda.

"Eight crew were kidnapped from the ship, consisting of a total of 12 Asian and European sailors," he said.

The other vessel was a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier managed in Greece with a Greek owner.

"There were 21 crew on board. All were Asians. Nine crew were taken," Choong told AFP.

"(The) IMB has issued a warning to all ships at Douala. We ask all ships to take additional precaution."

Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement quoted by news agencies that three of the kidnapped sailors were Russian nationals. Many Ukrainians also hold Russian citizenship.

- Piracy epicentre -

In recent years, the seas off West Africa have become "the world's worst for pirate attacks," according to the IMB.

Attacks doubled in the Gulf of Guinea in 2018 compared to the previous year -- the bulk of them due to piracy, it said.

Of the 75 seafarers taken hostage in the first half of this year, 62 were abducted in the gulf, IMB figures showed.

The Gulf of Guinea now accounts for 73 percent of kidnappings and 92 percent of hostage-takings at sea worldwide, particularly off the coast of Nigeria, Guinea, Togo, Benin and Cameroon.

The 17 countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea and adjacent coastline have limited surveillance and maritime defence capabilities.

They have been trying for several years to bolster their means of intervention and to put in place closer collaboration.

Ten Turkish sailors were freed last week after being kidnapped by "pirates" off Nigeria last month. Pirates normally seize sailors hoping to be paid ransom.

© 2019 AFP