International

Pirates seize six Turkish crew members off Nigerian coast

Published

8 years ago

April 12, 2016

Pirates seize six Turkish crew members off Nigerian coast

Spokesman for the Nigerian Navy, Chris Ezekobe, has confirmed that six Turkish members of a cargo ship’s crew have been kidnapped by suspected pirates off the coast of Nigeria.

According to Chris the crew members of the merchant tanker M/T Puli numbering up to six were seized some 90 miles from the coast at around 1:30 a.m. (0130 GMT) on Monday.

“Six crew members were abducted. They included the captain, the chief officer and chief engineer,” Ezekobe said. “They were all Turkish.”

He also informed that the navy was going to board the vessel to speak to other crew members aboard the cargo ship.

A lawyer for Kaptanoglu Group, an Istanbul-based shipping company, said the crew members abducted from the M/T Puli included the ship’s captain and that those left behind were unharmed, according to the newspaper Hurriyet.

The cargo was carrying liquid chemical fuels and was travelling to Cameroon, Hurriyet said, citing the lawyer, Fehmi Ulgener.

The Gulf of Guinea which is a significant source of oil, cocoa and metals for world markets, has witnessed several attacks by pirates and last month, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea agreed to establish combined patrols to bolster security in the region.

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