Pirates

There are strong indications that the Pirates who kidnapped 15 sailors from a Turkish-crewed container ship in the Gulf of Guinea last week have made contact with the shipping company to discuss a ransom, Turkish media have reported.

Turkish owned news agency disclosed that “Communication has been established with crew members of the Mozart container ship,” Istanbul-based Boden Shipping, which provides technical management services for the vessel, was quoted as saying.

“Information has been obtained that all 15 crew members are in good health, not wounded and together,” it said.

One of the sailors, an Azerbaijani citizen, was killed in the raid while those kidnapped are Turkish citizens.

Reports from  the crew, family members and security sources described a sophisticated and well-orchestrated attack on Saturday in which armed pirates boarded the ship and breached its protective citadel, possibly with explosives.

The Liberian-flagged vessel was sailing to Cape Town from Lagos when it was attacked 160 km (100 miles) off Sao Tome Island when she was attacked.