The ten Turkish sailors kidnapped on July 16, 2019 by Nigeria’s Niger Delta militants have been released.
The 10 sailors were bound for Ivory Coast aboard a container ship when the vessel was intercepted by pirates off the coast of Nigeria on 16 July.
The pirates seized the 10 crewmembers and took them away from the ship, leaving eight others aboard.
Turkish state media channel TRT said the released sailors were in good health but gave no more details.
It was not clear who had kidnapped the men or if a ransom had been paid.
The shipping company Kadioglu Denizcilik, said its Turkish-flagged Paksoy-1 cargo ship was attacked in the Gulf of Guinea as it sailed from Cameroon to the Ivory Coast without freight.
“According to initial information, there were no injuries or casualties. Efforts for all our personnel to be safely released continue,” the company said in a statement.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said after the pirates left the ship, it was taken to Ghana’s Tema port, while Ghanaian and Nigerian authorities worked on freeing the captured sailors.
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) recently described the Gulf of Guinea as the most dangerous area in the world for piracy. It said 73% of all sea kidnappings and 92% of hostage-takings took place in the Gulf of Guinea.
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