Armed men in speedboats seize a French vessel owned by the Total oil company

On 31 October 2008 armed men in speedboats seized a French vessel owned by the Total oil company near the Bakassi Peninsula. The oil vessel was carrying a barge destined for an oil installation in the Gulf of Guinea. At least 10 of the ship's 15 crewmembers were taken in the attack; seven were French citizens, two were Cameroonian and one was Tunisian. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Cameroonian government has stated that the attack bore the trademarks of similar raids in Nigeria's Niger Delta.