- A statement said that three crew members are still in the ship and pirates are waiting for negotiations for ransom.
- One crew member killed and 15 others kidnapped when pirates stormed a Turkish cargo ship that had a crew of 19 off the coast of Guinea, according to a statement.
- The crew member who was killed was an Azerbaijani sailor.
A recent news article published in the TRT World reveals that there has been a deadly pirate ambush on Turkish cargo ship off Guinea and sailors are kidnapped.
What happened?
According to a written statement by David Johnson, head of EOS Risk Group, the ship, named M/V Mozart, which was travelling from Lagos to Cape Town, was sailing 100 sea miles northwest of the African island country Sao Tome when pirates boarded the ship.
Crew details
Fifteen crew members moving from Lagos, Nigeria to Cape Town, South Africa were kidnapped, one was killed, while three remained onboard, David Johnson, the head of the UK-based EOS Risk Group said in the statement.
Statement on Twitter
A tape recording shared on Twitter and believed to be belonging to the 4th captain of the ship says: “I don’t know where I’m going. The pirates dismantled all cables, nothing is working. Only the navigator works. They gave me a route, I’m moving accordingly.”
Situation closely followed
According to Turkey’s Communications Directorate, President Erdogan held two phone conversations with Furkan Yaren, the 4th captain in the ship.
Erdogan was told that the ship is sailing toward Gabon with three crew members inside.
Erdogan also stated that he is closely following the situation.
Search and rescue operation initiative
According to information obtained from diplomatic sources, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke to Yaren and received information from him regarding the incident and situation in the ship.
Turkey mobilised all means through its embassies in the region to rescue the kidnapped crew.
The foreign minister also offered condolences to Azerbaijani FM Jeyhun Bayramov for the death of the Azerbaijani citizen.
Turkey mobilised all means through its embassies in the region to rescue the kidnapped crew.
A similar attack in 2019
Kidnappings and piracy for ransom in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea are common. A similar attack occurred in 2019 when a Turkish cargo ship was attacked by Nigerian pirates, and 10 sailors, all Turkish nationals, were taken hostage for ransom. Later, all sailors were released.
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Source : TRT World
