The Turkish government says it is taking measures with Ghana and Nigeria to secure release of its citizens kidnapped by pirates suspected to be Niger Delta militants.
A Turkish Cargo ship moving from Douala to Abidjan was attacked by pirates off the Nigerian coast on the evening of July 13.
The pirates took hostage of some of the Turkish crew members.
The ship currently is anchored at the port of Tema (Ghana).
Authorities of Nigeria and Ghana have been approached in order to secure the release of the Turkish crew.
A statement by the Turkish foreign ministry obtained by SaharaReporters said: “The ship which the pirates left has been taken to Tema Harbour (Ghana), and the necessary initiatives are taken with Nigerian and Ghanaian authorities for the release of our abducted citizens.”
The sailors were reportedly kidnapped on Saturday evening.
“As a result of the attack, some of the crew members, who are Turkish nationals, have been abducted by the pirates.”
According to reports, a Turkish-flagged ship, Paksoy-1, going to Abidjan, Ivory Coast from the Port of Douala in Cameroon was attacked by pirates on Saturday evening.
The ship, operated by Kadioglu Maritime, had 18 crew on board at the time it was attacked by pirates suspected to be militants in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria.
Turkey’s Ambassador to Ghana, Ozlem Ulueren, told Turkish news agency, Anadolu, that the vessel had reached Ghana’s Tema Harbour with eight crew members on Monday.