Yemisi Izuora
Suspected pirates have attacked a Turkish cargo off Nigeria’s coast in the Gulf of Guinea kidnapping 15 sailors and killing one of the crew members.
The vessel, a Liberian-flagged M/V Mozart was heading from Lagos to Cape Town, South Africa; when it was attacked on Saturday morning.
The crew were initially able to hide, but the pirates broke into their hiding place after six hours. One crew member, an engineer from Azerbaijan and the only non-Turkish citizen in the group, was killed in the ensuing struggle.
According to report by Middle East Eye, the pirates exited the ship in the Gulf of Guinea, leaving only three sailors aboard. They left with the 15 kidnapped crew members. In a chat with Turkish news channel NTV, one sailor still on board the Mozart said several crew members were wounded.
The reports indicate that the pirates had disabled most of the ship’s systems; before leaving the remaining crew with only the navigation system to direct them to port. The vessel eventually anchored at Port-Gentil in Gabon by 0800GMT on Sunday.
Meanwhile, efforts are reportedly underway to rescue the kidnapped crew members. This was disclosed by Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to an official statement on Sunday.
Erdogan said a rescue mission was launched immediately following the pirate attack to rescue the abducted personnel; Turkey’s Communications Directorate said in the statement. Erdogan has twice spoken to the new captain of the Mozart, Furkan Yaren; his office said in a tweet, adding that he issued orders for the recovery of the kidnapped crew.
Also, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara is in the process of coordinated negotiations; adding that this was targeted at securing the release of the crew. However, he added that the pirates had not yet made any response.
The International Maritime Bureau has designated the Gulf of Guinea as the most dangerous sea for piracy, says the Middle East Eye. Out of 135 sailors abducted globally last year, 130 were recorded in the Gulf of Guinea; representing the highest ever number of crew members kidnapped in the area.
In July 2019, 10 Turkish sailors were kidnapped off the coast of Nigeria and were released less than a month later.